The Family Letters 

of 

Christina Georgina Rossetti 



The Family Letters 

of 

Christina Georgina Rossetti 

With some Supplementary Letters 
and Appendices 



Edited by 

William Michael Rossetti 



She stands there patient, nerved with inner might, 

Indomitable in her feebleness, 

Her face and will athirst against the light. 



NEW YORK 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

1908 






Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, 

bread street hill, e.g., and 

bungay, suffolk. 



1 :^oti 



I 



THESE LETTERS 

BY 

CHRISTINA ROSSETTI 

ARE INSCRIBED BY HER BROTHER TO THE 

MEMORY OF OUR MOTHER 

TO WHOM HER OWN BOOKS WERE 
CONSTANTLY DEDICATED 



PREFACE 



The object aimed at in this volume is to present a selection from 
the family-letters of Christina Georgina Rossetti, supplemented by a 
very few letters of hers addressed to persons out of the family, and 
by a quite moderate number of those addressed to herself — as for 
instance by her brother Dante Gabriel. The total number of letters 
now extant, addressed to herself, is truly small ; for throughout her 
life her ordinary practice was to destroy such missives as soon as 
read and answered. On the other hand it seems probable that a 
very considerable number of letters written by herself to a variety of 
persons are still in being ; for she was a highly punctual corre- 
spondent, and, from an early period of her life, there were many who 
regarded her with predilection, and who thought her likely to do 
something of note, and it may be surmised that several of these have 
preserved what she wrote. To letters of this miscellaneous kind I 
have not had access, save in the rarest instances, and therefore the 
present collection is practically, though not absolutely, limited to 
family-correspondence. 

Some readers will probably think that I have admitted into my 
volume various letters the interest of which is extremely slender. As 
to this I can only say that, slender or not, they appear to me admis- 
sible, as tending to define and complete the picture of my sister's 
mind and feelings ; also that I have excluded 77iany letters — perhaps 
a good deal more than the number here given — which I acknowledge 
to be (more or less) below the requisite standard for publication. 
From the letters here printed I have omitted a large number of 
passages which the public could obviously not care for : and this 

vii 



viii PREFACE 

although it seems to me that letters read better when uncurtailed, 
even if some portions of them may have very little to plead for 
themselves. 

Are the letters, taken as a whole, interesting or uninteresting ? 
Do they relate to important or to unimportant matters ? Of this I 
must leave the reader to judge. My own view is that Christina 
Rossetti, by her work in poetry and authorship, made herself interest- 
ing to a great number of persons ; and that anything which tends to 
show forth her genuine self, her personality and tone of mind and 
feeling, cannot therefore be totally insignificant. Nothing could 
evince these more perfectly than her family-letters do. I am certain 
that I here set before readers a beautiful and lovable character ; and, 
as this is the character of a person widely cherished for her writings, 
and even intensely valued by many lovers of poetry and many re- 
ligious devotees, I await with some confidence the verdict which may 
be passed upon my compilation. 

The correspondence in my collection, belonging to the earlier 
period of Christina's life, is rather scanty, owing to the fact that 
eighteen of her letters, of dates ranging from 1845 to 1854, are now 
the property of her sympathetic biographer Mr. Mackenzie Bell, and 
are thus not at my disposal ; moreover two or three of her family- 
letters, of later date, have been published in Mr. Bell's book. 
Besides all these, the letters by my sister printed in the Rossetti 
Papers, 1862 to 1870 (Sands & Co., 1903), and (with one exception) 
those addressed to her by Dante Rossetti included in the volume of 
his Family-Letters (Ellis, 1895), are not reproduced in the present 
collection. 

It will be found that literary matters, and also religious convictions, 
form an element in the correspondence here published. By far its 
chief constituent however is family affection, of which the warm glow 
can be felt incessantly renewed throughout. It is mingled with a 
constant tone of courteous considerateness, and even definite polite- 
ness, more than one would consider essential in family-letters ; for 
Christina — as I have had occasion to say elsewhere — was rather punc- 
tiliously polite from her early girlhood onwards, and she saw no 
occasion for stinting this quality to members of her family, while she 



PREFACE ix 

gave it in full measure to other people. Brightness as well as ever- 
present depth of feeling is vividly apparent, along with many neat, 
sprightly, and engaging turns of expression. 

I am conscious that every now and then the letters contain some 
phrase not only of affection but likewise of commendation to myself 
— what I was or what I did. If I ought to have cut out these 
passages, I must apologize for leaving them in. My motive for so 
doing is too obvious to bear exposition. To have earned, or to 
have received, the praise of such a woman as Christina Rossetti, is a 
thing which no man would prefer to hide under a bushel. Apart from 
the personal and predominant motive for leaving these passages on 
record, it may truly be said that the excision of them would have 
diminished the completeness of the self-portrait which my sister has 
presented in these letters ; for, if she loved other members of her 
family, she assuredly loved me as well. 

I have not thought it needful to reproduce in type the signatures 
to the letters, and the subscribing words. The signature is almost 
invariable, "Christina G. Rossetti," but in a very few instances there 
are only initials. Of the subscribing words, the most usual is " Your 
affectionate sister " ; every now and then something more marked 
occurs : " Your most grateful loving sister — Your dismal sister — 
Truly, as well I may be, your affectionate sister — Lovingly your sister 
— Affectionately your old sister — Your unchangeable affectionate 
sister " — and the like. 

When I produced the complete Poetical Works of Christina Rossetti 
in 1904, I wrote a compendious Memoir of her uneventful and 
rather secluded life. I have no mind to go over the same ground 
now in the same sort of way : but, in order to supply a guide to the 
reader as to the main stages in the career which the letters indicate 
in a more or less scattered form, I append here a list of dates and 
occurrences. 

1826, April. Gabriele Rossetti, a political exile from the kingdom 

of Naples, a poet, literary man, and professor of Italian, with his 

Anglo-Italian wife, Frances Mary Lavinia (Polidori), settled in No. 

38 Charlotte Street, Portland Place, London, now called No. no 
b 



X PREFACE 

Hallam Street. A memorial disk for Dante Gabriel Rossetti has 
recently been set up on this house : it ought to include, but does 
not, Christina Georgina Rossetti. 

1830, December 5. Birth of Christina in the above house, follow- 
ing the births of Maria Francesca, Dante Gabriel, and William 
Michael. She, like the other children, was baptized in the English 
Church. 

1836, January. The family remove to No. 50 Charlotte Street. 

1842, April. Christina writes her first verses, a birthday address 
to her mother. 

1847. A booklet of her Ferses is privately printed by her grand- 
father, Gaetano Polidori. 

1848, September. Formation of the Praeraphaelite Brotherhood, 
or P.R.B. 

1848, Autumn. James CoUinson, a painter and member of the 
P.R.B., originally belonging to the English Church but now a 
Roman Catholic, proposes marriage to Christina. She, being reluc- 
tant to marry a Roman Catholic, declines. 

1848, ? November. CoUinson re-enters the English Church, 
renews his proposal to Christina, and is accepted. 

1850, January to May. Christina publishes various poems in 
T/ie Germ : her first publications, save for two pieces in The 
Athenaum. 

1850, ?May. CoUinson reverts to the Roman Catholic Church, 
and Christina cancels her engagement to him. 

1 85 1, January. The family remove to No. 38 Arlington Street 
(now merged in Arlington Road), Mornington Crescent, and Chris- 
tina acts as assistant to her mother in a day-school there. 

1853, Spring. Mrs. Rossetti goes with Christina to Frome, Somer- 
set, to set up another day-school. Later on Gabriele Rossetti joins 
them, the rest of the family remaining in London. 

1853, April and December. Deaths in London of Mrs. Rossetti's 
parents, Anna Maria and Gaetano Polidori. 

1854, April. I take a house for the whole family except Dante 
Gabriel — 45 Upper Albany Street, now 166 Albany Street. 

1854, April 26. Death of Gabriele Rossetti in this house. 



PREFACE xi 

1 86 1, February. Christina publishes in Macmillan's Magazine a 
poem, Uphill^ which secures a good deal of attention. 

1861, Summer, Christina's first foreign trip with her mother and 
me. Paris, Coutances, and other parts of Normandy. 

1862. She brings out her first published volume, Goblin Market 
and other Poems. 

1862. She now begins to see pretty frequently Charles Bagot 
Cayley, a scholar, author, and linguist, translator of Dante's Divina 
Conmiedia, 8zc., whom she may have first met in 1847, She falls in 
love with him. 

1865, Summer. Christina's second and last foreign trip, again with 
her mother and me, through France, over Mount St. Gothard, into 
Italy— Pavia, Verona, &c. : back by the Spliigen Pass, Schaffhausen, 
&c. 

1866, June. She brings out her second published volume, 77/^ 
Prince's Progress and other Poems. 

1866, ? Summer. Cayley proposes marriage to Christina, and she 
would gladly accept him : but on some religious ground, apparently 
that he is not a Christian of an orthodox type, she declines the offer. 

1867, June. My mother and two sisters, with myself, remove to 
No. 56 Euston Square, afterwards called No. 5 Endsleigh Gardens. 

1870, Christina brings out her first prose- volume, Commonplace, 
and other Short Stories. This was followed, 1874 to 1892, by seven 
other prose volumes, the last being The Face of the Deep, a Devo- 
tional Cotnmentary on the Apocalypse. Five of them were published 
by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 

187 1, April. After various other illnesses, beginning towards the 
age of fifteen, Christina is prostrated by a very dangerous malady, 
exophthalmic bronchocele, or Dr. Graves's disease. Many months of 
suffering ensue, and several crises of peril; but the illness gets 
tolerably subdued by the summer of 1873. 

1872, June. Dante Gabriel falls into a bad state of health, which 
continues, in one phase or another, for the remainder of his life. 
Christina publishes another volume of poems (for children). Singsong. 

1873, Summer. Maria Rossetti becomes a novice, and afterwards 
a professed ^ister, in All Saints' Sisterhood (Anglican), London. 



xii PREFACE 

1874, March. I marry Lucy Brown. We continue living in 
No. 5 Endsleigh Gardens, along with my mother and Christina. 

1876, October. They two remove to No. 30 Torrington Square, 
along with my mother's two sisters, Charlotte and Eliza Polidori. 

1876, November 24. Death of Maria. 

1 88 1, Summer, Christina publishes another volume, A Pageant 
and other Poems. 

1882, April 9. Death of Dante Gabriel at Birchington-on-Sea, 
near Margate, after Mrs. Rossetti and Christina had been nursing 
him for several weeks. 

1885, December 5. Charles Cayley dies in London. 

1886, April 8. Death of our mother, Frances Rossetti. 

1890, January. Death of Charlotte Polidori, who, as well as 
Eliza Polidori, had continued living in the same house with 
Christina;. 

1892, May. Christina, being pronounced to be suffering from 
cancer on the left side of the chest, undergoes a severe operation. 

1893, June. Death of EHza Polidori. 

1893, September. Publication of Christina's last volume. Verses^ 
being a collection of the various pieces of poetry scattered through 
her volumes previously issued by the Society for Promoting Chris- 
tian Knowledge. 

1894, April 12. Death at San Remo of Lucy Rossetti, Christina's 
sister-in-law. 

1894, December 29. The cancer having recurred, complicated 
by dropsy in the left arm, Christina, after being confined to bed for 
more than four months, dies at No. 30 Torrington Square. Buried 
in Highgate Cemetery. 

Besides the letters by Christina which form the substance of this 
volume, along with the few samples of letters addressed to her, I add 
in an appendix : 

I. Extracts from my Diaries, 187 1 to 1895, relating to Christina. 
I regret that so large a proportion of the extracts should have to do 
with illnesses which affected my sister from time to time, and not with 
her literary or other interests. Many entries about illnesses have, 



PREFACE xiii 

however, been omitted, as only going over the same cheerless ground 
again and again. 

2. Extracts from a Diary kept by Christina from 1881 to 1886. 
This, as the wording shows, purports to be the diary of Mrs. Rossetti, 
our mother ; but my sister, acting on her behalf, was, with a few 
exceptions in the earlier dates, the real writer of the diary, so far as 
handwriting is concerned, and no doubt the composition or diction 
is often hers as well. 

Wm. M. Rossetti. 

London, April 1907. 



CONTENTS 



Preface 



PAGE 

vii 



LETTERS WRITTEN BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI 



Gabriele Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 



Frances Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 



Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 



DATE 




26 June 1843 


I 


23 November 1848 


2 


25 August 1849 


4 


. 31 


6 


8 September ,, 


8 


• 19 


10 


• 26 


II 


8 August 1850 


12 


. 14 


1.5 


3 September ,, 


14 


28 July 1851 


16 


23 August 


iS 


. 29 


19 


28 April 1853 


22 


13 November 1855 


23 


18 August 1858 


25 


25 October 1861 


26 


December 1864 


28 


II September 1S66 


29 


April 1870 


31 


February 1871 


32 


. 28 April 


33 



XVI 



CONTENTS 



William Michael Rossetti 



Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 
Lucy Brown (Rossetti) . 
William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
Oliver Madox Brown . 
William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 



William Michael Rossetti 

>> >> 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 



William Michael Rossetti 

Lucy Rossetti 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 



William Michael Rossetti 



DATE 

28 July 1S71 

I September ,, 

10 June 1872 

31 August ,, 

5 September ,, 

28 April 1873 

17 June 

10 July 



5 November ,, 

4 May 1S74 

15 „ 

22 June „ 

23 )j )) 
28 September ,, 

1 October ,, 

5 November ,, 

20 June 1875 
II August ,, 
17 

September ,, 

21 ,, ,, 
30 November ,, 
14 December ,, 
22 

January 1876 
18 July 

2 August ,, 
September ,, 



9 October 



William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 

>> >5 

9> >> 

»> >J 

William Michael Rossetti 



Frederic J. Shields 
William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
Lucy Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 



William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 

>» >> 

William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 

>> >i 

Olivia Rossetti (Agresti) 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 



William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 



CONTENTS 


xvii 


DATE 


PAGE 


14 October 1876 


62 




. 27 


63 




24 November „ 


64 




21 December ,, 


64 




I January 1S77 


65 




12 March ,, 


66 




6 August ,, 


67 




15 


68 




30 


69 




II October ,, 


70 




December , , 


71 




15 March 1878 


72 




April ,, 


73 




June ,, 


74 




August ,, 


75 




21 ,, ,, 


76 




17 September ,, 


77 




January 1S79 


7S 




Summer ,, 


79 




21 July 


79 




25 „ 


80 




18 August ,, 


81 




21 October ,, 


82 




17 December ,, 


83 




2 April 1880 


84 




27 „ 


84 




May , , 


85 




16 July ,, 


85 




20 „ 


86 




9 August ,, 


88 




14 „ 


89 




6 September ,, 


89 




5J ) J 


90 




29 December ,, 


91 




I January 18S1 


91 




28 April ,, 


92 




2 May 


93 



Dante Gabriel Rossetti 



William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
Lucv Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 

>» »» 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 



Lucy Rossetti 

William Michael Rossetti 

Lucy Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 
Charles Eagot Cayley . 
William Michael Rossetti 



CONTENTS 




DATE 


26 


July 




4 


August 




9 


)j 




5 


September 




24 


,, 




. 19 


October 




21 


j> 




30 


November 




2 


December 




21 


>> 




23 


January 




2 


February 




8 


i> 




19 


<> 




27 


» 




4 


March 




8 


)> 




14 


«> 




17 


>> 




24 


>> 




28 


9> 




30 


If 




5 April 




17 July 




26 


>) 




28 


,, 




. Autumn 




7 


December 




. 26 


February 




29 


June 




16 


July 




19 


>» 




23 


)) 




30 


„ 




6 


August 




II 
15 


>> 



1882 





CONTENTS 




xix 


TO 


DATE 




PACK 


Lucy Rossetti 


22 August 


1883 


137 


II f> . . . 


24 


11 • • 


138 


Frederic J. Shields 


II December 


11 • • 


140 


William Michael Rossetti 


15 


11 • 


141 


M M 


17 


>i • " 


142 


II II 


28 August 


1884 


143 


II II • 


2 September 


II • 


144 


II II 


3 


II 


145 


i> II ' 


23 


>i 


146 


1. 11 


10 June 


1885 


148 


Lucy Rossetti 


II Jamiary 


1886 


149 


William Michael Rossetti 


19 




150 


Lucy Rossetti 


,, 




151 


II II 




16 February 




151 


11 II 




4 March 




152 


II II 




5 




153 


II II 




2 April 




153 


)i II • 




19 II 




154 


II II • 




21 ,, 




154 


William Michael Rossetti 


18 May 




. 155 


II II 


20 August 




. 156 


II II 


6 October 




157 


II II 


13 January 


1887 


. 158 


Lucy Rossetti 


25 




158 


William Michael Rossetti 


5 February 




159 


II II 


10 ,, 




160 


II II 


21 




. 161 


II 11 


28 „ 




162 


Lucy Rossetti 


21 March 




. 163 


II II • • 


Summer 




164 


William Michael Rossetti 


8 May 


1888 


. i6s 


Lucy Rossetti 


June 




. 165 


William Michael Rossetti 


5 July 




. 166 


II II 


I October 


II 


. 167 


i> 11 


10 December 


II 


. 168 


Lucy Rossetti 


13 


)) 


169 


Helen Rossetti (Angeli 


) 


• 11 




. 170 



CONTENTS 



Mary Rossetti 

Olivia Rossetti (Agresti) 

Gabriel Arthur Rossetti 

William Michael Rossetti 

Lucy Rossetti 

William Michael Rossetti 



Lucy Rossetti 

William Michael Rossetti 

» )> 

Lucy Rossetti 
William Michael Rossetti 

»> >) 

Lucy Rossetti 



William Michael Rossetti 

Lucy Rossetti 

William Michael Rossetti 



DATE 

December 

14 February 
26 

20 June 
I October 

15 November 

22 January 
26 March 

6 December 
8 

9 March 
16 

23 April 

4 July 

26 August 
28 December 

18 February 
20 March 

i> i> 
20 May 

23 „ 
30 June 

13 July 

19 ,. 

17 August 
9 November 

29 

30 December 
2 January 
8 February 

10 March 

13 April 

19 » 
2 June 
4 October 
7 



1890 



1891 



1892 



1893 



William Michael Rossetti 



CONTENTS 




xxi 


DATE 




PAGE 


1 . II October 


1S93 


198 




4 December 


,, 


199 




24 


5> • 


200 




29 


„ 


201 




26 March 


1894 


202 




2 April 


>> 


202 




9 ,. 


„ 


203 




18 „ 


„ 


204 




21 June 


>> 


205 




10 August 


)> 


. 205 



LETTERS ADDRESSED TO CHRISTINA ROSSETTI 



BY 


DATE 






Dante Gabriel Rossetti 


4 August 


IS52 


20 


>> )> 


July 


1862 


27 


>> »> 


22 May 


IS79 


78 


>i )> 


13 January 


I88I 


92 


>> »» 


15 February 


1882 


105 


Frances Rossetti 


19 August 


1870 


32 


Charles Bagot Cayley . 


2 September 


1868 


30 


j> )» 


2 January 


1877 


65 


>> >> 


4 September 


1878 


76 


)> j> 


6 November 


1881 


lOI 


Maria Francesca Rossetti 


14 July 


1876 


56 


Rev. Dr. Littledale 


7 February 


1878 


72 


Frederic J. Shields 


16 December 


1883 


141 


Ford Madox Brown 


30 April 


1882 


"7 


Lady Mount-Temple 


13 May 


>> 


117 


j> >> 


31 January 


1883 


122 


Algernon C. Swinburne 


7 June 


,, 


125 


,, .. 


17 November 


I8S4 


147 


William Michael Rossetti 


. 18 July 


1883 


128 


>> j> 


ID August 


M 


132 



XXll 



CONTENTS 



Sophie Cayi.ey 
Professor Cayley 



DATE 

7 December 1SS3 
9 



I'AGE 



APPENDIX 

1. Extracts from the Diaries of William Michael Rossetti, 1871-95 207 

2. Extracts from a Diary kept by Christina Rossetti on behalf of her 

Mother, 1881-6 ....... 222 

Index of Names ........ 235 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI 

From a Tinted Crayon Drawing by Dante Rossetti, 1877 



To face page 

Frontispiece 



CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTl'S BIRTH-HOUSE 

SKETCH BY DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI . 

FACSIMILE FROM ROSSETTl'S LETTER 

DANTE, CHRISTINA, FRANCES, AND WILLIAM ROSSETTI 

FROM PENCIL DRAWINGS BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI 

FRANCES M. L. ROSSETTI 

CHARLES BAGOT CAYLEY 

THE GRAVE-CROSS OF DANTE ROSSETTI . . . . 

FACSIMILE OF A POEM BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI . 
THE HOUSE IN WHICH CHRISTINA ROSSETTI DIED 



21 



/ 



29 


" 


45 


J 


84 




142 


/ 


144 


/ 


206 


- 


222 


/ 




Christina Georgina Rossetti's Birth-house. 

no Hallam Street, Portland Place; formerly 38 Charlotte Street. 

Photograph taken in 1908. 



[ To face p. I. 



THE FAMILY LETTERS 



OF 



CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI 



To Gabriele Rossetti, Hastings (translation). 

[This is the earliest letter by Christina extant in the family. The 
original is in Italian, and was (as she says) only the second letter 
which she had ever indited in that language, her age at this date 
being twelve and a half. She apologizes for blunders, which are 
tolerably numerous, but not such as to affect the sense. She must 
have written various letters in English before this time, yet by no 
means many. — Mr, Leader was Mr. John Temple Leader, a radical 
M.P. who lived to a great age, dying near Florence in 1903. He 
had taken of late much interest in Gabriele Rossetti's health, which 
was then gravely shattered, and which had driven him to Hastings 
for relief — soon afterwards to Paris. Mr. Rovedino was a musician, 
a family-friend j he was a sprightly man, indulging in small jocularities, 
at which Christina appears to glance. Dr. Adolf Heimann was the 
Professor of German in the London University College, and was in 
all those years a very affectionate friend to all of us. Mr. Parodi was 
our dancing-master : an estimable and in several respects sensible 
man, who spoke a curious lingo, compounded of Italian, English, 
and whatsoever else. The postscript (written by Christina in English), 
saying that Gabriel had gone to Austin Friars, refers to the cashing 
of a cheque, or some such matter.] 
I 



■ 



CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



[50 CHARLOTTE STREET, PORTLAND PLACE, LONDON.] 

26 June 1843. 

Dearest Papa, 

I hope you will excuse all the blunders which I make in 
this letter, and that you will recollect that this is only (I think) the 
second letter that I ever wrote in Italian. 

Yesterday Mr. Leader came, and asked how long you expected to 
remain at Hastings. William replied that he believes that, if the 
place does you good, you had spoken of remaining some two months. 
He had not been gone a minute when Mr. Rovedino entered, and he 
asked when you had gone off; and then, sending you his salutation, 
and saying some other things which are not worthy of insertion in 
this epistle, he left. 

On Saturday Dr. Heimann came ; and he speaks of taking Gabriel 
and William for a walk, and asks to be remembered to you and mamma. 

Maria sends her love ; Aunt Margaret sends the same. Also Mr. 
Parodi sends you his respects. And I, thanking mamma for her 
letter, and sending the love of Aunt Margaret and Maria and myself 
to mamma and Aunt Charlotte, sign myself Your &c. 

Gabriel has gone to Austin Friars. 

To William Rossetti, Pkasley Hill, Notts. 

[At the date of this letter Christina was engaged to marry James 
Collinson, a painter and member of the Praeraphaelite Brotherhood ; 
and I, along with Collinson, had gone to pay a visit (it proved 
to be my only one) to Mrs. and Miss Collinson, the mother and 
sister of my friend, living at Pleasley Hill, near Mansfield and 
the site of Sherwood Forest. "The celebrated portrait" is a 
small oil-portrait of Christina then recently painted by Collinson, 
and now in my possession ; so far from being " flattering," it does 
not do justice to her face, though fair enough as a likeness. The 
quotation, " drinking deep-throated of the Hfe of life," comes from 
one of the numerous bouts-rmes sonnets which I wrote in those 
years ; and the reference to " snobbishness " indicates that I had 
been reading to the Collinson ladies from Thackeray's Book of 
Snobs, a prime favourite in our family. — Mrs. Charles Collinson 
was the wife of James CoUinson's elder brother, a Bookseller in 



1848— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 3 

business at Mansfield. " A real live castle " was recommended 
to me because I had begun some blank verse concerning a castle : 
the piece was eventually published in The Germ, but I may probably 
have had some idea of offering it to The Athenceiim, of which Mr. 
T. K. Hervey was Editor. The banter about chiaroscuro «Sz:c. refers 
to some very faint and unpromising attempts I was then making to 
see whether I could do anything in the way of drawing.] 



50 CHARLOTTE STREET, PORTLAND PLACE, LONDON. 

23 November 1848. 

Dear William, 

The postman's knock this morning made evident a most 
humiliating state of my own mind, for, though not sufficiently 
philosophical to regret the arrival of your letter to-day, I was quite 
enough of a baby to mourn over my losing that pleasure to-morrow, 
when I had calculated upon receiving it. From all this you will 
draw the conclusion that your hint of a second communication must 
quite have consoled me, and believe in the sincerity of my thanks 
both for performance and promise. 

Permit me to paraphrase the beginning of your note. "After a 
journey spent in pointing out to the commiseration of my fellow 
passengers the unsound state of my mind as more particularly 
developed at various Railway Stations, I am securely housed." It is 
a real comfort to think that this is the case. 

I had fancied Mrs. Collinson the very reverse oiprini ; but, as you 
conjecture, kind-hearted. I am glad you like Miss Collinson, but 
have a notion that she must be dreadfully clever. Is either of these 
ladies alarming? not to you, of course, but would they be so to me ? 
I wish that they could be convinced that the celebrated portrait is 
flattering, and that " the thoughtful and pleasing expression " of my 
face is indeed " as developed in the portrait." You probably not 
only profusely banqueted but surfeited your victims with my poetry ; 
but in this you may not have been the sole culprit. I dare say 
that your astonished hostesses are drinking " deep-throated " of 
snobbishness, which, in one sense, may be called " the life of life." All 
I have to recommend is that, when you have concluded the European 
work that treats thereof, you do not begin again. Though not very 
deeply versed in the rules of social etiquette, I should imagine that 



4 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

your introduction to any amount of acquaintances were quite 
parliamentary. Pray in your next give me a detailed account of 
Mrs. Charles CoUinson and baby. 

But for my superiority to all mean passions I might envy you your 
delightful country-walks. Do not forget that in the present stage of 
your literary malady a real live castle is highly to be recommended. 
Perhaps when you are backed by tumbling battlements, moss-grown 
stones, and such like, Mr, T. K. Hervey will be compelled to 
capitulate. I had imagined " the house " too neat to be very 
comfortable ; and was troubled with " a foreshown agony " of 
windows kept open in winter. (N.B. You must not consider me 
responsible for the correctness of my own quotations.) Perhaps if 
you were not in company with an artist I might follow up my N.B. 
by a very emphatic hand pointing a long way round the corner ; as 
it is, you must either do without one, or sketch it in yourself, with 
that masterly touch and intimate knowledge, not to say perfect com- 
mand of chiaroscuro, which all your works display. From his name, 
I imagine the bull-terrier to be hideous enough for even my taste. 
If his manners have not a soup^on of the savage tinging their 
cordiality, doubtless we might be excellent friends. . . . 

Pray, if you think it expedient, present my respects to Mrs. 
CoUinson and love to Miss C. Why I have left off calling the latter 
Mary is not easily explained except on the score of feeling awkward. 
Mamma sends her love. Will you remember me most particularly 
to Mr. CoUinson ? In the firm faith that this overgrown epistle must 
elicit a reply, I am &c. 

Is your address written rightly ? 



To William Rossetti, Lo7idon. 

[It will be observed that this letter was written from Pleasley 
Hill, Christina being on a visit there to Mrs. and Miss CoUinson : 
James CoUinson was not present — I think not even for a day. Mr. 
[John] Orchard was a painter of very infirm physique, who died in the 
following year : he contributed to The Germ a Dialogue on Art of 
some marked interest, and one or two poems. His " most peculiar 
criticism on Gabriel's picture," The Girlhood of Mary Virgin, was I 
think in a private letter addressed to Gabriel, not as yet personally 



i849— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 5 

known to him. ** His two sonnets " on the same theme are in my 
possession, and excessively bad they are, considered as sonnets or as 
verse. The first begins 

" Musing, not seldom to my eye of mind " : 

the second, 

" Thy guileless modesty of soul full sure." 

" Sol," named by Christina, was a dog : — " My dreary poem " 
would appear, judging from dates, to have been Three Nuns. — " The 
Kings " were a family — father, mother, and three daughters well 
grounded in the ancient classics — whom I knew through the introduc- 
tion of Mr. Alfred Chaworth Lyster : the father conducted a school 
of good repute in the Maida Hill district : a son of Charles Dickens 
sjvas seen by me as a boarder there. Mr. Lyster, besides being a 
colleague of mine in the Inland Revenue Office, was nephew of our 
old family-friend Mr. Thomas Keightley. " As I lay a-thinking " is 
a pathetic poem by Barham, author of The Ingoldsby Legends. — 
" Hannibal Fitch " receives some explanation (if he requires it) in an 
ensuing letter. — " Any two of my brethren " would obviously be 
Dante Gabriel and CoUinson. — Mr. Holman Hunt was thinking of 
visiting Paris, and in the early autumn he did so in company with 
Dante Rossetti.] 

PLEASLEY HILL. 

[25 August 1849.] 

My dear William, 

I did see Mr. Orchard's most peculiar criticism on Gabriel's 
picture : but is it possible you would have expected the author of 
such prose to excel as a poet? If you are in a very charitable 
humour you will send me a copy of his two sonnets, your account 
of which excites my curiosity ; also a notice of Gabriel's excursion to 
Greenwich, should it take place. Though my visit here is extremely 
tolerable, still the postman is quite an event in my existence ; and 
Sol is my other sol-ace. Quite equal to Punch. The period of my 
return home appears altogether doubtful ; so you need not make 
yourself uneasy yet awhile. I have only had one walk since my 
^arrival ; but hope for a second to-day, as I am getting strong and hearty. 

Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Charles has yet appeared ; but I cannot 
count on this continuing. Local converse wearies me somewhat ; 
yet this advantage it possesses — I cannot join in it ; so may, during 



6 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

its continuance, abandon myself to my own meditations. My dreary 
poem is not completed, but a few appropriate stanzas have been 
added since my leaving town. You will easily believe that, whatever 
other merit it lacks, it possesses unity of purpose in a high degree. 

The talk of beaus is as perpetual here as at Mrs. Heimann's : 
however, fewer jokes (?) have been passed on me than might have 
been anticipated ; and of these Mary is entirely innocent. Do you 
know, I rather like Mary ; she is not at all caressing, but seems real. 
Do you ever see the Kings ? news of them, or of the Brotherhood, 
or of anything else, thankfully received. Apropos of receiving, would 
you be so kind as to let me have at your convenience " As I lay 
a-thinkinge " ? In my desperation I knit lace with a perseverance 
completely foreign to my nature. Yesterday I made a dirt-pudding 
in the garden, wherein to plant some slips of currant. The 
unbusinesslike manner in which the process was gone through 
affords every prospect of complete failure. Ah Will ! if you were 
here we would write bouts-rimes sonnets, and be subdued together. 
Mary has told me a capital story of three bears, with which I may 
perhaps solace you on my return ; you will stand in need of some 
comfort. 

From Mansfield on to Pleasley I had for travelling companion a 
very correct Titmarsh-looking man. In one of the railway-carriages 
was a young man the very image of Hannibal Fitch when he was 
superlatively riled. Do you recollect the portrait of that individual 
as he appeared in the condition above alluded to ? 

Love to Papa, Mamma, Maria, and any two of my brethren you 
choose to select, from Your &c. 

Has Mr. Hunt vacated London for Paris ? 



To William Rossetti. 

[As the letter implies, the sonnet here appended was a bouts-rimts 
affair written to rhymes supplied by me. I wrote a sonnet (but it 
need not be reproduced) to the rhymes which Christina forwarded. 
These rhymes begin with the word "rose," and end with "hence," 
and I do not identify them as pertaining to any of Christina's " old 
things." — The words "your first Thought' relate to The Germ, the 
proposed title of which was at this date Thoughts towards Nature. 



1849— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 7 

The "rabid chartist" who was expected to contribute to that 
magazine must have been WiUiam North (mentioned at some length 
in my book of Reminiscences) : he did not in fact contribute. Then 
another expected contributor is alluded to, and the epithet " Bliss- 
ful " ensues : this was a Mr. Bliss, son of an eminent barrister ; but 
he also did not contribute. — Arthur Gordon Pym will be recognized 
as the title of one of Edgar Poe's most impressive tales. — " C. C." is 
Charles CoUinson, whom Christina had ere this seen once in London : 
he was not much to the taste of any of us. — The suggestion that I 
might " fail to decipher this " refers to the fact that that closing part 
of the letter was "crossed." Otherwise the suggestion would have 
been absurd, for Christina's handwriting was of the clearest and 
neatest conceivable.] 

[PLEASLEY HILL. 

31 August 1849.] 

My dear William, 

Many thanks for " As I lay, &c." To your rhymes I have 
written a rather intense sonnet, which cannot miss your approbation. 
The notion of life turning to fuust is not hackneyed. On the back 
are some rhymes for you to fill up ; they belong to one of my old 
things. 

" Have you forgotten " Mr. Hannibal Fitch in Thackeray's Punch's 
review of one year's Exhibition ? There was a portrait of him. I 
long to see your first Thought. That such a magazine as yours 
will be clever is beyond a doubt, but you must excuse my joining 
one which numbers among its contributors a " rabid chartist," and 
one "who thinks of nothing but politics" and "the negation of 
religion." Your plan is far too Blissful for my taste. 

Arthur Gordon Pym must be beyond measure interesting ; I hope 
to see it on my return. Mary desires me to kindly remember, or 
something of the sort, "us" to you. To-morrow she and I go to 
Mansfield : she prophesies my being 2^. favourite with C. C. on account 
of my unalterable self-possession. Fancy the inflated state in which 
I shall re-enter London, should this flattering preference result from 
my visit. . . . Though this is anything but an equivalent for your 
last delightful letter, I must hope that you will charitably consider it 
in that light, and continue your epistolary favours to your corre- 
spondent, believing her to be ungrateful only in deed and not in will. 



8 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

There are four unanswered notes awaiting my attention, and unable 
to obtain it this morning. Still I cannot endure the idea that I may 
be losing some possible communications through neglect. Besides 
these four impending answers I much wish to write to Aunt 
Charlotte, not having done so since leaving town ; still justice must 
take precedence of generosity. Assuring you that if you fail to 
decipher this you lose nothing (which implies an acted bull, for 
the assurance is no more legible than the rest,) I remain &c. 

So I began my walk of life ; no stop 

Was possible ; or else my will was frail ; 

Or is it that the first stumblings entail 

"Weakness no after strength has power to prop ? 

The heart puts forth her boughs ; and these we lop 

For very wantonness ; until the gale 

Is rank with blood ; then our life-portions fail 

And we are fain to share another's sop. 

At first my heart was true and my soul true, 

And then the outside world believed me false. 

Therefore my sweets grew bitter, and I thrust 

Life back, till it stood still and turned to must. 

Yet sometimes through the great stagnation calls 

Of spirits reach me : is it so with you ? 

To William Rossetti. 

[My proposed " pleasant excursion " was with James CoUinson to 
the Isle of Wight; hence the reference to "bathing" towards the 
close of the letter. We went together to Cowes and elsewhere, and, 
after CoUinson's return to London, I was at Ventnor. — The " puzzle " 
which terminates the letter strikes me as a very easy one to solve : it 
must run — " Sir Humphrey Davy, Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly."] 

MANSFIELD. 

8 September 1849. 
My dear William, 

In the first place let me wish you a pleasant excursion next 
week, and petition for an occasional continuance of your epistolary 
favours. To-day Miss CoUinson and self return to Pleasley; so I 
anticipate having more time for the carrying on of my extensive 
correspondence. Quite contrary to my expectations, I have greatly 
enjoyed my Mansfield visit; and but for certain toilet-difficulties 
should be very happy to prolong it. Mrs. Charles is delightful; 



i849— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 9 

the most to my taste of any one I have met down here : her sister 
too, Carrie Maltby, seems a nice girl. 

Yesterday evening we spent with the Fosters . . . Miss Rosanna 
sang sosoishly ; and Mr. Foster went to sleep in a coat more usually 
seen in morning private life than at a soiree. Will you give Mamma 
my warmest thanks for her darling letter, which I trust to answer 
very shortly ; also my very best love ; also will you tell her that, if 
any one is devoted enough to see about sending it, the portfolio 
should be directed to me at Pleasley Hill, and that I should very 
much like to have it, as a ring cannot be offered a person who never 
wears one ? 

I had mentioned to Mary the sweet prettiness of "As I lay a- 
thinkinge : " but she does not appreciate it ; at least not as we do. 

The must to which my life has turned is the substantive. You 
cannot imagine the grief which filled me on learning that you could 
answer Yes to anything connected with my sonnet : yours is less 
bad, but also less uncommon. Have you yet received ocular demon- 
stration of the existence of H. Fitch? I am perfectly convinced 
that he is not only an empty name. I still entertain a dreamy hope 
of seeing Mr. Orchard's sonnets through your kind agency : if I 
wait to make their acquaintance till my return home, the probability 
is that they will never meet my longing eyes. 

When you are in the country on no account neglect bathing : be 
a little less lazy than on occasion of our last year's stay at Brighton : 
and do not forget that the succulent Abernethy should precede your 
matinal dip. You see I am turning quite into an old nurse. Did 
you play at chess with C. C. when you were down here ? We are 
tolerably equal : he has conquered once oftener than myself, but I 
won the last game. 

Will you give my love to Papa, Maria, and Gabriel? In a P.S. 
I will put a curious puzzle for your torture ; I only succeeded in 
deciphering the first line. Wishing you better success, I remain &c. 

An English gentleman asked a French one for a London address, 
and received this : 

Sarumfre De Vie, 
Hippocana, 

Piquet de lait. 



CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To William Rossetti, Ventnor. 

[The affairs of James Collinson were regarded as "unpromis- 
ing" chiefly, I think, on the ground that his pictures did not 
sell : it may be also that his sister was aware that he was not un- 
likely to return to the Roman Catholic Church, which would have 
been, and in fact it was, fatal to the engagement between him and 
Christina. Park Village was the residence of our grandfather Polidori 
and his family.] 



[50 CHARLOTTE STREET, LONDON. 

19 September 1849.] 

My dear William, 

Last night we saw Mr. Collinson, who gave us your address, 
and this at length enables me to answer your last note. I have not 
yet filled up your rhymes, but still hope to do so ; only I will not 
delay writing till the inspiration comes. 

Let me congratulate you on the retirement of Messrs. North and 
Bliss from your literary concern : without them it appears to me to 
have more prospect of success. Many thanks for Mr. Orchard's 
sonnets : your comment on them is not too severe ; but there is a 
good feeling about them ... By the by I have not told you all this 
time that I came home on Monday, after exactly a month's stay in 
Notts. From all acquaintances there I have received unvarying kind- 
ness and hospitality ; on your return you will probably witness (not 
watch) the progress of a piece of work of which I hope some day to 
beg Mrs. Charles' acceptance. I have already given Miss Collinson 
my Nice portfolio, so need not on that account hesitate to make my 
next present where I like. . . . 

My correspondence with Mary Collinson has come to an end by 
her desire. Do not imagine we have been quarrelling : not at all : but 
she seems to think her brother's affairs so unpromising as to render 
our continuing to write to each other not pleasant. Does not this 
sound extraordinary ? We are all much surprised. 

Yesterday I called in Park Village ; to-day I hope to visit Mrs. 
Heimann, but rather dread this interview for very natural reasons. 

Mamma wishes me to give you her love ; and to say that she will 



41 



i849— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI ii 

not write to-day as I am doing so, but contemplates doing so soon. 
Time fails; so with Mrs. Collinson's respects (this really was the 
message) I remain &c. 

I shall have much to talk about on your return : my visit was very 
pleasant for some reasons, but not exclusively so. In haste, good- 
bye. 



To William Rossetti, Ventnor. 

["The Potters" were a family that we had known ever since early 
childhood ; Mr. Cipriani Potter being the Principal of the Royal 
Academy of Music, and my godfather to boot. 

The proposal of bestowing the title The P.R.B.Jour?ial upon the 
magazine which was ultimately named The Germ did not come to 
effect. I think the suggestion was soon dropped by my colleagues 
in London, and I, the appointed Editor, was not in its favour.] 



50 CHARLOTTE STREET, LONDON. 

[26 September 1849.] 

Dear William, 

Gabriel, being pressed for time, has commissioned me to 
write as follows. 

You need not hasten your return home on account of the 
magazine, as the prospectus can wait. You already know all 
the contributions except Mr. Stephens'; which is at present on 
divers scraps, in a highly chaotic state. Mr. Hunt's etching is in 
two compartments; the first represents Mr. Woolner's man and 
woman gathering flowers by the water-side; the second, the man 
throwing himself on the woman's grave. These are all his messages, 
to the best of my remembrance . . . 

Your bouts-rimes is one of the best you have written : my own 
has fared very much better than its intrinsic value merits. My 
overwhelming business consists of nothing more important than 
needle-work and such like. 

Maria and self passed yesterday very pleasantly with the Potters. 
You really should visit them on your return : they are so friendly, so 
pressing to see you ; besides Henry is very nice, and might very 



12 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

probably suit your taste as well as mine. He is nothing at all of 
your abomination a boy, though only sixteen. 

I have heard of The Saint's Tragedy from Mr. CoUinson. 
Whether he will be at the Heimanns' to-morrow I know not. 
Mamma sends her love. 

P.S. Mrs. Potter ardently desires to borrow the Snobs, and you 
are to take it her some evening. 

P.P.S. From Gabriel. 

Several are thinking of calling it the P. R. B. Journal. Think 
maturely and write result at once to Stephens. You need not 
hasten back, as he will manage till your return. All communications 
are to be addressed to him. 

To William Rossetti, Excise Office. 

[Christina here alludes to various small points, applicable to 
Brighton, with which she and I had been familiar when there 
together in 1848. There was somebody whom we had called 
"Riba," which is the name of a marauding personage in the drama 
of The Miller and his Men, familiar to us in childhood through the 
medium of Skelfs Theatrical Characters and otherwise. — If I was at 
this date thinking of going to France, I gave up the intention, and 
went instead to Edinburgh and Newcastle-on-Tyne : did not reach 
France (Paris) until 1853. — "The execution" refers to a small 
matter which I have mentioned elsewhere — the seizure of Dante 
Gabriel's goods in a house in Newman Street, where he rented a 
studio, owing to the levanting of his landlord, a dancing-master : he 
was not himself in any arrears of rent. — The reference to CoUinson 
and his picture of St. Elizabeth of Hungary shows that by this date 
Christina had ceased to be in personal relations with CoUinson. 
Their engagement had been broken off at some such date as May 
or June 1850, owing to his having reverted from the Anglican to the 
Roman Church.] 

34 WEST STREET, BRIGHTON. 

[8 August 1850.] 
My dear William, 

Seized with my usual longing for news, I as usual resort to 
you ; somewhat ashamed indeed of the empty letter system, yet not 
enough to make me give it up. 



4 



i8so— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 13 

Yesterday walking up Western Street I recognized the familiar 
shop of Pratt, Hairdresser ; and the neat abode of Humphry where 
Mangleing is done. The other evening I am convinced I saw Riba 
on the beach, but have not yet discerned " our nose." 

Do you still think of going to France in your holiday ? Wishing 
is foolish, but I could almost wish you to be content with some 
place in England. I suppose I shall be back before your expedition, 
but if not do not forget to send me your then address : however the 
utmost limit of our absence will probably be the completion of 
the month. How does Gabriel's studio business proceed? I was 
much surprised to hear of the execution. 

Have you seen the St. Elizabeth lately? and do you yet know 
what is to be done with the figure of the old woman whose position 
was not liked ? Whilst I am here, if you can manage without too 
much trouble, I wish you would find out whether Mr. Collinson is 
as delicate as he used to be : you and Gabriel are my resources, and 
you are by far the more agreeable. 

I direct this to the Excise that Mamma may not know of it. Do 
not be shocked at the concealment; this letter would not give her 
much pleasure. Do have patience both with the trouble I occasion 
you and with myself. I am ashamed of this note, yet want courage 
to throw it away ; so must despatch it in its dreary emptiness with 
the sincere love of Your &c. 



To William Rossetti. 

[Christina was not quite correct in surmising that Collinson's 
picture of St. Elizabeth of Hungary "must be very beautiful": it 
was however meritorious up to a certain point. — As to her writing 
" two or three scraps," I find only two poems of hers which are dated 
about this time ; they are Annie in September, and St. Elizabeth of 
Hungary in November. — Mrs. Sortain was a lady married to a 
dissenting minister of much note as a preacher : she was a member 
of one of the families in which my mother had been governess — the 
Macgregor family.] 



14 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



1 



34 WEST STREET, BRIGHTON 

14 Attgtai 1850. 

My dear William, 

Many thanks for the news your letter contains, though you 
do not seem to consider it much. 

Gabriel's position appears not particularly pleasant; but, if his 
whereabouts is to be kept secret, pray do not let me have his address. 
Mr. Brown appears invariably kind. 

Thank you for- the St. Elizabeth news : it must be very beautiful. 
Is it intended to be ready for next Exhibition ? I quite wish to see 
it, and examine into all its beauties. I conclude you may not 
improbably come in : has some one yet been found for St. Elizabeth's 
future mother-in-law? — I think her name was Sophia. But from 
what you say it would seem that St. Elizabeth herself is to be 
painted from the same head as one of her maids of honour : is this 
the case ? I hope not. . . . 

I have written two or three scraps, none of which may very 
likely be finished. We have not set cognizant eyes on a single 
speaking acquaintance, and altogether our days and nights and days 
go by, bearing a considerable resemblance between themselves. We 
called on Mrs. Sortain yesterday, who has very goodnaturedly lent 
us books, with the offer of more as wished for. I have got the first 
volume of Layard's Nineveh, and Maria a Life of Crabbe and some 
book on China ; I will not tell you how much I have read of my 
borrow. 

Maria unites with me in love to Papa, Mamma, and Brothers. 



To William Rossetti, Edinburgh. 

[" Mr. Cayley " was Mr. Charles Bagot Cayley, who at a much 
later date than this proposed marriage to Christina. At present he 
was known to us as a pupil of my father for Italian, and as author 
of the beginning of a MS. translation of Dante's Divi?ia Commedia, 
afterwards completed and published. I got some specimens of it 
published in the weekly review entitled The Critic (named towards 
the close of Christina's letter). — What the " unhappy little fragment " 



i8so— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 15 

may have been I know not : I presume it was some verse written in 
the tone of despondency or hfe-weariness not unusual with Christina. 
— Priscilla Townsend was a member of a large family well known to 
us, not in affluent circumstances, who all emigrated at this date to 
Canterbury Settlement, New Zealand : some of them still are, or 
recently were, in that dominion. — About the "Scotch beggar," I have 
some faint recollection that such a personage in Edinburgh handed 
me some verses, professedly of his own composition : the verses them- 
selves have vanished from my memory. — Mr. (Benedetto) Sangiovanni, 
by profession a modeller of picturesque figures in clay &c., was an 
old family-friend of ours, held in much regard, who had recently 
quitted London for Brighton: the "small clay dog "is, I suppose, 
the same which remained with Christina up to her death, and which 
is now mine. The "busto romano" is unknown to me. "Mr. 
Ciocci," whom it is said to have resembled, was an Italian with a very 
insignificant but prettyish face : one of those disfrocked priests who 
beset my father in these years, teasing him (with overmuch success) to 
write anti-catholic tirades and expositions. We did not ourselves 
know any particular harm of Ciocci : but it is a fact that, not long 
after this date, he was tried and convicted at Brighton for something 
much in the nature of housebreaking. — Mr. (Filippo) Pistrucci was, 
like Sangiovanni, a family-friend who, leaving London, had settled 
at Brighton : he lived by teaching Italian, and was also a painter. — 
The review in The Guardian of Art and Poetry {The Germ) was, if I 
remember right, written by Coventry Patmore, not at the solicitation 
of the writers concerned therein.] 



50 CHARLOTTE STREET, PORTLAND PLACE LONDON. 

3 September 1850. 

My dear William, 

To commence with the one useful sentence of my letter : 
will you in your next let us know whether you have yet received Mr. 
Cayley's MS. translations from Dante, which we posted for you last 
Saturday ? 

In Mamma's letter allusion was made to one I wrote you from 
Brighton, which arrived on the day of your departure. As a whole 
it was not perhaps a peculiarly interesting document : but it contained 
an unhappy little fragment which so totally disgusted Mamma that 
I very speedily made away with it. 



i6 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

One evening Priscilla Townsend called to take leave of us before 
quitting England, and left her remembrances for my brothers. Poor 
girl, she seemed somewhat depressed as the time for departure drew 
near, I think of writing to her sometimes, which cannot fail to console 
her for all privations. But nonsense apart I sincerely regret losing 
her : she was a very nice girl, cordial and goodnatured. . . . 

There seems to me nothing improbable in the fact of your Scotch 
beggar having composed the verses you sent. There is something 
I like about them. Before leaving Brighton we took tea with Mrs. 
Sortain, on which occasion we did not get enough to eat. Mr. 
Sangiovanni presented me with a small clay dog, and Maria with a 
busto romano which reminds us both of Mr. Ciocci : and we met 
Mr. Pistrucci by appointment at Mr. S.'s ; he is looking better than 
I ever remember to have seen him. A favourable review of the 
defunct Germ^ or rather Art and Poetry, appeared in last week's 
Guardian : incidental mention is made of Gabriel's last picture : 
and I am not sure whether unmixed but certainly high praise is 
awarded to the Praeraphaelite School of painting. Mamma, who 
possesses the newspaper, is much gratified at all this : not the less 
perhaps as the pre-eminence of fnmd is not attributed to Mr. Millais. . 
A Critic came for you this morning. 

I have no further communications of any sort present to my mind 
except that I am &c. 



To William Rossetti. 

[Aylott and Jones, a firm in Paternoster Row, had been the pub- 
lishers of the first two numbers of The Ger?n. I don't exactly 
remember what I was proposing to do in relation to them : perhaps 
to see whether they would publish Maude. This was a prose-story 
(for girls rather than adults) written by Christina, with some verse 
interspersed : it remained unpublished until after her death, 1897. — 
Mrs. W. B. Scott was not a poetess or authoress in the ordinary sense : 
but she had recently shown me some verses of her composition, 
chiefly on religious topics. Her opinions on such topics were at that 
time shifting and uncertain : hence an expression in Christina's letter. 
— " The GilfiUan case " and the " abominable row " are not now clear 
to me. I was then writing some literary reviews in The Critic, and 



1851— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 17 

the Rev. George Gilfillan, a rather prominent critic of those days, was 
taking a leading part in that weekly serial : possibly I had surmised 
that I might come into some sort of collision with him — or (not less 
probably) the row has no relation to Gilfillan or to The Critic. — It 
will be observed that this letter was written from Longleat, the seat of 
the Marquis — at this time of the Marchioness Dowager — of Bath. 
Our Aunt Charlotte Polidori was a governess, and afterwards a 
"companion," in the Marchioness's family, and had been authorized 
to receive Christina as a temporary visitor.] 



LONGLEAT, WARMINSTER, WILTS. 

2% July 1 85 1. 

My dear William, 

Many thanks for your kind intention of writing on the 
subject of Aylott and Jones. Perhaps our letters will cross. I think 
Maude may await my return. She is lying perdu in a drawer, several 
removes from undergoing a revise. Perhaps I shall some day 
produce something better in the first instance. I am far from blind 
to the poetry of Mrs. Scott's verses. They are very superior to my 
preconceived notions of them, and indicate talent and feeling : if 
such poetry may be trusted for telling a true tale. Perhaps a real 
tale would better express my meaning, as I have no intention of 
insinuating falsehood. Do you select the middle of August for 
taste or convenience, for your projected visit to Newcastle ? or did 
your hosts elect propose it? How have you arranged matters in 
the Gilfillan case ? It is very easy to set down matters as " non- 
sense and a bore " to me : but I defy you to prove that I do not 
want your letters, even such as they are. But how can you have any 
taste for an abominable row ? I do not approve of the specimen 
of signature you append to your last letter : it is very easy to say it 
is W. M. Rossetti. 

When next you see them, you may remember me not only to Mrs. 
but also to Mr. Scott. This is avoiding the hurry of the last moment. 
Is Mr. Scott a good judge in art ? Of course, if not, his opinion may 
still occasionally be right. There is a (to me) singular plant in the 
garden : one flower of it swarms with ants. Its appearance is some- 



i8 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

thing like that of a thistle. Did you ever taste bread-fruit? We 
had some yesterday : it reminded me of an indifferent pear. Will 
you tell Mamma, with my love, that I regularly have arrowroot in my 
own room of a night : and that at dinner in the schoolroom I mix 
my wine with that unpleasant and salutary compound hop-tea ? 

Thinking it possible you may not wish me to go on to the genuine 
history of my week's work, I remain &c. 

The other day Lady Bath let me ride home from church, and her- 
self walked in the rain. She shows herself very amiable in certain 
little everyday matters. 



To William Rossetti, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

[The address here given by Christina had become our family- 
residence since the beginning of 1851. Our Uncle Henry Polydore, 
Articled Clerk to a firm of solicitors, lived in Gloucester, and I 
visited him on my return homeward from Newcastle, where I was 
the guest of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Scott. — The only verse-compo- 
sitions by Christina which I find dated towards this time are A Fair 
World though a Fallen, in August, and Behold I stand at the door 
and knock, in December. — The phrase " I have not made out North 
yet " becomes a little less hazy on reading the next-ensuing letter. 
— " Little Fanny Grey " I have forgotten : she may perhaps have 
been some small girl, in a humble sphere in life, known to Christina 
in connexion with church-work.] 



38 ARLINGTON ST. CAMDEN TOWN. 

23 Augicst 1 85 1. 

My dear William, 

Do not feel aggravated at the sight of my mark. I write to 
enclose a note from Uncle Henry to Maria, part of which regards 
you. Do you not think it would be possible to take Gloucester in 
your way home ? I think you might give pleasure by the proceeding ; 
Uncle Henry is by no means well, and Gloucester is a fine old city 
well worth seeing. If you go, try to manage the ascent of Robin 
Hood's Hill in the vicinity ; the view is magnificent. There is a 
delightful walk, too, to Hempstead, such a pretty village. You can 



1851— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 19 

go along by the Bristol Channel, and returning you pass Lanthony 
Abbey, and an ancient well. . . . 

I have written nothing whole since you left, but have begun a 
piece that, I fancy, might prove nice. 

I have not made out North yet. Will you remember Mamma, 
Maria, and self, cordially to Mr. and Mrs. Scott ? How do you all 
get on, and what do you do ? — also how was your present liked ? 
I have not attempted the Heimanns yet ; perhaps the letter may 
stand in the place of intercourse for some months to come : but 
honestly I am not in a condition to walk so far. Little Fanny Grey 
told us one day that a goose had no legs, a cat two, and a canary 
four : however she assigned the proper complement to a three-legged 
stool. 

Mamma sends a maternal love, Maria a do. adapted to circum- 
stances. 



To William Rossetti, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

[I did, as expected, " proceed to the Lakes by Carlisle," staying for 
a day or two at Pooley-bridge by UUeswater : and this was the only 
occasion when I have visited the Lake-country, except that, shortly 
after Ruskin's death, I was at his house overlooking Coniston. — 
Some arrangement had been made for the convenience of William 
North, who was now either changing lodgings in London, or else 
preparing to go to the United States. He was not " married," but 
perhaps he ought to have been. — As to the ballad of The Hertnit of 
Warkworih, I believe that I was right in ascribing it to Bishop Percy : 
it is not the same thing as the ballad of The Hermit, written by 
Goldsmith. I had recently made an excursion to Warkworth 
Hermitage, and had by mischance left my pocket-book there.] 



38 ARLINGTON ST. CAMDEN TOWN. 

29 August 1 85 1. 

My DEAR William, 

Many thanks for your nice long letter. Your time seems 
full indeed, and pleasantly so. Do you think you shall exceed your 
fortnight at Newcastle ? At any rate I hope my note may arrive 



20 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

before your departure. If you proceed to the Lakes by Carlisle (a 
near Railway point) and return thither preparatory to continuing your 
tour, you could thence go to Gloucester by a very direct route. . . . 

Yesterday Mr. North sent for his box. To-day Mamma has con- 
sented to take in letters for him : how long this is for I know not. Is 
he married ? a young lady with a child in a cab left the message. 
Begging your pardon, was it not Oliver Goldsmith who versified the 
Hermitage, and not Bishop Percy ? You may thank your third-class 
tastes for the delightful duration of your journey, I conjecture. I 
dare say Lincoln Cathedral is grand : once I was told that Gloucester 
and Worcester were reckoned the two finest in England. But how 
delightful Hexham Church must be : and I like the Sexton. 

Did all its furniture depart along with your pocket-book ? Could 
you not make enquiries for it, Mamma suggests ? If you have not 
yet got a new one, on no account do so. Maria and I hope to pre- 
sent you with one for your next birthday. You need not answer per 
post, as we hope to see you before then. . . . 

Have you chilly weather? We have, say I. 



From Dante Rossetti to Christina Rossetti, Darlaston 
Hall, Staffordshire. 

[This letter (with some minor omissions of words, and especially 
of its drawing) has previously been published in The Fajnily-ktters 
of D. G. Rossetti. — As to the statement that Christina was " per- 
petrating portraits," it may be observed that towards this date she 
had a certain disposition to cultivate any aptitude which she might 
possess for art-work. She never carried the attempt far, but could 
""•"-"tvcatch a likeness pretty well. — "The Sid" was Elizabeth Eleanor 
Siddal, whom my brother married in i860. — His things sent from 
Highgate were probably forwarded from the house rented by Mr. E. 
L. Bateman, a decorative artist who had emigrated to Australia with 
Thomas Woolner and others. Mrs. and Miss Howitt (the late Mrs. 
Howitt-Watts) were then staying in the house, and were on very 
cordial terms both with my brother and with Miss Siddal. — The 
magazine with which Mrs. Howitt was connected was named (I think) 
Aikin's Year : Christina published in the magazine the composition 
Behold I stand at the door and knock : not perhaps anything else. 




Sketch by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. 
Seep. 22. 



\To face p. 21. 



1852— FROM DANTE ROSSETTI 21 

Her Ruined Cross was a very early affair, included in the privately 
printed Verses of 1847. — Christina was at this time on a visit to Mr. 
Swynfen Jervis and his family, at Darlaston Hall, Staffordshire : she 
was, I think, bringing on one or other of the daughters in conver- 
sational Italian. Mr. Jervis, a connexion of Lord St. Vincent, had 
been in parliament : our father had taught Italian in his family, who 
had kept up some acquaintance with us otherwise. The pen-and-ink 
sketch of Mr. Jervis and Christina, and the description of it, were 
not intended as seriously ill-natured to this gentleman, but as banter 
which a sister would understand. Mr. Jervis was something of a 
Shakespearean commentator, and something also of a verse-writer. — 
My brother's proposed trip to Hastings was for the purpose of 
rejoining Miss Siddal, who stayed there at times for health's sake.] 



LONDON. 
4 August 1852. 

My dear Christina, 

Maria has just shown me a letter of yours by which I find 
that you have been perpetrating portraits of some kind. If you answer 
this note, will you enclose a specimen, as I should like to see some 
of your handiwork. You must take care however not to rival the 
Sid, but keep within respectful limits. Since you went away, I have 
had sent me, among my things from Highgate, a lock of hair shorn 
from the beloved head of that dear, and radiant as the tresses of 
Aurora, a sight of which perhaps may dazzle you on your return. That 
love has lately made herself a grey dress, also a black silk one, the first 
bringing out her characteristics as a " meek unconscious dove," while 
the second enhances her qualifications as a " rara avis in terris," by 
rendering her "nigro simillima cygno." 

I am rejoiced to hear of your improved health, and hope it may 
prove lasting. I was lately in company with Mrs. and Miss Howitt, 
with whom you are a considerable topic. I believe Mamma forwarded 
you an intelligent magazine by Mrs. H. to which you are at liberty 
to contribute. That lady was much delighted with your printed per- 
formances, and wishes greatly to know you. Her daughter likewise 
yearns in your direction. She has by her, singularly enough, a draw- 
ing which she calls The End of the Pilgrimage, made by her some 



22 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

years back, which furnishes an exact illustration of your Ruined 
Cross. 

On the opposite page is an attempt to record, though faintly, that 
privileged period of your life during which you have sat at the feet 
of one for whom the ages have probably been waiting. The cartoon 
has that vagueness which attends all true poetry. On his countenance 
is a calm serenity, unchangeable, unmistakeable. In yours I think 
I read awe, mingled however with something of that noble pride 
which even the companionship of greatness has been known to 
bestow. Are you here transcribing from his very lips the title-deeds 
of his immortality, or rather perpetuating by a sister art the aspect 
of that brow where poetry has set up her throne ? I know not. The 
expression of Shakespear's genial features is also perhaps ambiguous, 
though doubtless not to him. Westminster Abbey, I see, looms in 
the distance, though with rather an airy character. 

I shall very possibly be going to Hastings in a few days. Mean- 
while, till I hear from you or see you again, believe me &c. 

I forgot to say that Mamma considers 2/6 sufficient to give the 
maid, in which I may add I do not coincide. Mamma, however, 
says_y(??^ must judge. 



To Frances Rossetti, London. 

[Not long after settling in Frome-Selwood, Somerset, Mrs. Rossetti 
had to return to London, to attend the deathbed of her mother, 
Mrs. PoUdori, aged eighty-four or thereabouts. Christina remained 
behind at Frome; to which town she and our mother had very 
recently gone to arrange for opening a day-school. The Rev. Mr. 
Bennett was Vicar of Frome. He had been appointed to that living 
by the Marchioness Dowager of Bath, after exciting in London some 
commotion by his "high-church" practices: and it was conjectured 
that, with some countenance from him, Mrs. Rossetti, with Christina 
as her assistant, might be able to do something better with a day- 
school at Frome than they had managed with a like school at No. 38 
Arlington Street.] 










;.;^7 














/tc^J^l ^^^^. 




^ / /.^ f^^ ^^ ^ y ^.^ ^ 



IT ' ' - 



Facsimile from Rossetti's Letter. 
See p. 22. 



[TV /bc^ /. 22. 




00 ^ 






28 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

damsel. The poem which the designs illustrate is perhaps the 
wealthiest in expression of any in the volume, as it is also the one 
which is most purely and completely a work of art; but the 
devotional pieces are those we have liked best, and we are only sorry 
to have no space to quote from them. 



National Review, July 1862. 

The principal poem has rare delicacy and beauty of a modest kind, 
and several of the sonnets are fine. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[This letter is headed by a primitive portrayal of two hands 
raised in astonishment, and a note of admiration. It relates to a 
caricature made by Dante Gabriel, founded upon a phrase in The 
Titnes, in a critique upon the Goblin Market volume, " Miss Rossetti 
can point to work which could not easily be mended." He chose 
to misconstrue this phrase, and represented Christina, in a state of 
senseless excitement, destroying household furniture with a hammer, 
bank-notes in a firegrate, &c. The caricature was preserved by 
Christina, and is still extant — now in the hands of my daughter 
Olivia Agresti. — The Henrietta here mentioned was Henrietta 
Polydore, daughter of our uncle ; she was at this date aged sixteen 
or thereabouts, and was consumptive. She died in the United States 
towards the age of twenty-eight. — By "Mac" here and elsewhere 
Christina meant her publisher Alexander Macmillan, with whom she 
was always on pleasant terms.] 



81 HIGH ST., HASTINGS. 

[December 1864.] 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

Such is my attitude vis-a-vis of the historic record of my 
finished work. The stolid equanimity of the elephant under the loss 
of his trunk is perhaps my favourite point : though Henrietta justly 
directed my admiration to the rueful eye which the chip directs to 
the old block (head). 



i862— FROM DANTE ROSSETTI 27 

The 2 Misses Cayley called the other day. Sophie (in a bonnet 
and not very good light) handsome and striking, ready and amusing 
in conversation ; Henrietta you know. . . . 

My love to my dear Mrs. Scott : Mamma joins me in everything 
cordial to both your hosts. How is dear Olaf ? And at Wallington 
has Peter found a worthy successor ? 

On Wednesday evening we went and heard an amusing schoolroom 
lecture, Reminiscences of foreign travel ; Boulogne, Rouen, and Paris, 
are realities now for me instead of mere names. The lecturer, a 
Revd. — Jackson, was one of the recent deputation to Napoleon IH on 
the subject of cruelty to poor horses : and describes the Emperor's 
reception of the deputation as not merely courteous but apparently 
even cordial. In a week the horror was put an end to. 

The Cayleys I find are connections of Dr. Gray, Du Chaillu's 
opponent. 



From Dante Rossetti. 

Simpson's divan. 

\JuIy 1862.] 

Dear Christina, 

Here are the 2 notices. I forgot that one puffs me too ; 
so, if you want to show them to any one, I would be obliged if you 
would copy them and not show them in my writing. I hope you are 
better, and should come up to-night instead of writing if it were not 
late, I shall come very soon. With love to all. 



British Quarterly, July 1862. 

Besides Gobliyi Market this volume contains some miscellaneous 
poems and a variety of devotional pieces. All of these are marked 
by beauty and tenderness. They are frequently quaint and some- 
times a little capricious. The designs by Mr. Rossetti are rich and 
exquisite. No goblins could be better or more laughable than these ; 
nor could we imagine anything more felicitous than the mixed 
longing and hesitation pourtrayed in the face and action of the 



26 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

tin toy to follow a magnet in a slop-basin. The blind wombat and 
neighbouring porcupine broke forth into short-lived hostilities, but 
apparently without permanent results. The young puma begins to 
bite. Your glorious sea-anemones : — I well know the strawberry 
specimen, but do not remember the green and purple. Beware of 
putting them into fresh water, as the result is said to be fatal and 
nauseating. Did you thank us for that Crayon ? Sometimes a very 
mean instalment of occupation is acceptable at the sea-side. . . . 

Mamma's love : also hers and mine to Henrietta, with the useless 
assurance how truly I am &c. 

To William Rossetti, Newcastle. 

[The statement, " I have promised to go to Highgate," relates to 
an institution at Highgate for the reclamation and protection of 
women leading a vicious life : Christina stayed there from time to 
time, but not for lengthy periods together, taking part in the work. 
— The "proofs" which she had to attend to must have belonged to 
her volume. Goblin Market, &c. — Olaf and Peter were dogs — the 
latter at Wallington Hall, the seat of Sir Walter Calverley Trevelyan. 
— The observation that Paris and other French places were now 
realities to Christina glances at her having been in France (for the 
first time) with our mother and myself in the summer of this year. — 
The " horror " connected with horses in France was, I think, some 
process of vivisection. — As to Dr. Gray and Mr. Du Chaillu, some 
readers of the present day may remember an embittered controversy 
which was carried on regarding Du Chaillu's adventures with gorillas. 
Ultimately his opponents had to admit the essential truth of his 
statements, though combined with various inaccuracies of date and 
locality.] 

45 UPPER ALBANY STREET, LONDON, N.W. 

25 October 1 86 1. 

My dear William, 

... I have promised to go to Highgate for a short time, 
on condition that I shall have leisure to attend to proofs : but expect 
to be home again about the 13th if not before. Gabriel, in a note to 
Maria, mentioned that he was going to Yorkshire (last) Wednesday, 
so now very likely he is gone. 



i8s8— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 25 

wonder if I ever shall make his acquaintance, having heard of him 
these hundred years. 

Of course there are numbers of pictures about here, some of which 
are worth looking at. I wish you could see an extremely quaint one 
of a little girl holding something in her hand whilst a kitten stretches 
up towards her : I fancy it must possess merit. 

I hear my young charge just come in from their walk : so in haste 
believe me with love to Mamma and Maria . . . 

To G. too, of course, if attainable. 



To William Rossetti, Freshwater. 

[I spent some little while at Freshwater, seeing much of Mrs. and 
Miss Rintoul, and something of the Tennysons. — I forget what Dr. 
Heimann's tale may have been. — The Crayoji was an American Art- 
review, edited by Mr. W. J. Stillman (afterwards well known as 
American Consul in Rome and in Crete, Tunes correspondent in 
Rome, &c.), and I acted as its informant for British matters.] 



45 UPPER ALBANY STREET, LONDON, N.W. 

18 Atigust 1858. 

My dear William, 

Your letters, showing that you are enjoying yourself, cheer 
us like sunbeams and produce in us a moon-like content. We heard 
this morning from Maria, who also appears comfortable : she has 
promised the Scotts to be with them on Friday evening. . . . 

Dr. Heimann's tale proves very superior to my expectations; 
Heimannic, but agreeably so : I think you will like it. He seems 
inclined to publish it both in German and English, in the former 
almost immediately. . . . 

Gabriel is so well as to have utterly disappeared from these 
quarters. His water-cure was prescribed by himself, such treatment 
having formerly relieved him. No letters for you to-day, as yet. 

We have revisited the Z. Gardens. Lizards are in strong force, 
tortoises active, alligators looking up. The weasel-headed armadillo 
as usual evaded us. A tree-frog came to light, the exact image of a 



24 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

Hampstead Heath. It is clear that she was engaged in some sort 
of tuition, not of a fully defined kind, and that she rejoiced (quite 
characteristically) in finding her health not strong enough for regular 
engagements of like description ; and this was, I think, the very 
last attempt that she made at anything of the sort. — "Henrietta" 
was Miss Henrietta Rintoul, daughter of the Editor of The Spectator, 
for which I was then the art-critic, — About the Russian book by 
Harrison I don't know anything ; we had some acquaintance with 
a family named Harrison, in which the mother and one or two of 
the daughters were flower-painters. — Mr. Munro was the sculptor 
Alexander Munro.] 



H. H. 
[13 November 1855.] 

My DEAR William, 

I hope you are glad to know that I am very comfortable in 
my exile ; but at any rate I know I am rejoiced to feel that my 
health does really unfit me for miscellaneous governessing en 
permufience. For instance yesterday 1 indulged in breakfast in bed, 
having been very unwell the day previous : now I am very tolerable 
again, but do not feel particularly to be depended upon. 

May I hope for another letter before my return ? I dare say you 
know I have written to Henrietta ; to whom my cordial love should 
you chance to see her. Since writing to her, I have discovered a 
charming fact in a note to an amusing Russo book : to wit, the 
Chinese have three words signifying death ; sze (?) for the vulgar, 
pang for the emperor, but for princes and such like hung 111 I am 
so pleased. 

Do you know Hochclaga by dreary Elliott Warburton? I am 
supposed to be reading it. 

But to revert to the Russian book. It is by a man called Harrison, 
and some particularly bad plates illustrating it are signed F. Harrison. 
I wonder if these have anything to do with our Harrisons. I have a 
notion they had a Russian resident brother, and the plates then 
would be due to the fair Fanny. Their nature encourages in me a 
suspicion that I could do better myself. 

I hear Mr. Munro has dined at home since my departure : I 



i853— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 23 



BRUNSWICK PLACE, FROME. 

28 April 1853. 

My precious Mamma, 

Thank God indeed that dear Grandmamma died without 
pain, and also that you left Frome when you did ; another delay 
would have made you too late, at any rate unless you had had even 
more night-travelling. I am very glad she mentioned me, but hardly 
hope she understood my love. I have managed to put on nothing 
contrary to mourning to-day, and shall be glad to have the proper 
things, as you kindly say you will order them. 

Now I want you to consider about my going to town, and only to 
consider your own wishes in the matter. In the first place, trusting 
in the goodness of my intentions, I shall defer setting off till Monday 
morning at any rate : this will enable me to complete the current 
week, and to make our shortcoming exactly a fortnight. On the 
other hand, if you are only requiring my presence in London to save 
me trouble, pray do not let this weigh with you : I am managing 
very well, and doubt not I shall continue doing so. . . . 

Do not let Maria or any one at home labour under the delusion 
that I do not care to see them ; but rather let them attribute my plan 
to that strength of mind which characterizes me, . . . 

And now for something personal. If I come to London, and am 
in time, I should like to see Grandmamma again. Pray do not be 
afraid of the effects of siich a sight on me ; I really wish it, unless 
the lapse of so many days renders it inadvisable. But of course I 
leave the decision wholly to you. I hope Grandpapa will not 
suffer in his health. 

The weather here continues very ungenial in-doors, but has im- 
proved out. Mind you take due care of your wise self: and this 
exhortation I address to all I love, which includes a considerable 
number of persons ; each of whom I salute, especially Papa. 



To William Rossetti, 

[Christina did not give any address to this letter beyond writing 
" H, H.," and I do not now well remember where she was — possibly 



i866— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 29 

A Miss Smith has asked and obtained Mac's leave to melodize 
one of my things, I know not which. The other day a Rev. Mr. 
Baynes wrote begging my permission for him to reprint House to 
Home, in a collection he is preparing to promote a charitable object : 
after consulting Mac I consented. Jean Ingelovv is in his list of 
contributors ; and Dean Alford, not that I rate him very high 
poetically. 

Uncle Henry and Henrietta join in love. 



To William Rossetti. 

[This letter is very roughly written in pencil. My recollection 
concerning it is not exact. Christina was somewhere away from 
home, but I think not far off nor for long. It is clear that she had 
by this time, on grounds of religious faith, declined the offer of 
marriage made by Charles Bagot Cayley : also that I had written 
making some proposal which she thought liberal — I presume the 
proposal (which I certainly did make at some time or other) that, if 
they two were to marry, with means of subsistence inevitably vevy 
slender, or indeed next to none, they would be welcome to live as 
free inmates of my house.] 



II Septetnbcr 1866. 

Dear William, 

I am writing as I walk along the road with a party. 

I can't tell you what I feel at your most more than brotherly 
letter. Of course I am not merely the happier for what has occurred, 
but I gain much in knowing how much I am loved beyond my 
deserts. As to money, I might be selfish enough to wish that 
were the only bar, but you see from my point of view it is not. Now 
I am at least unselfish enough altogether to deprecate seeing C. B. C. 
continually (with nothing but mere feeling to offer) to his hamper and 
discomfort : but, if he likes to see me, God knows I like to see him, 
and any kindness you will show him will only be additional kindness 
loaded on me. 

I prefer writing before we meet, though you're not very formidable. 



30 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



From Charles Cayley. 

[At the head of this letter Cayley wrote an Italian sonnet by Dino 
Frescobaldi, date 131 1. He afterwards translated it in the The Pall 
Mall Gazette thus : — 

"Advice for him that visits England. Wear 
No gaudy colours and no lofty mien. 
In show be simple, and in practice keen. 
Ill may the Briton, if he trips you, fare ! 
Spend with bold heart, and shun the miser's air. 
Keep out of troubles, and give way to spleen. 
Pay punctually, but with politeness screen 
Your dunning, and protest your pouch is bare. 
By what you ask for be prepared to stand. 

Purchase betimes, and fortune speed you well. 
Never with men who trade in wit commune. 
Be duteous to the great ones of the land, 

And on good terms with your own people dwell, 
And make your doors fast in the evening soon."] 



[? BLACKHEATH. 
2 Septe77iber 1868.] 

Dear Miss Christina Rossetti, 

Many thanks to you and William for the extracts you so 
kindly copied. You might perhaps like, in its way, the sonnet I 
mentioned to him ; I will have the pleasure of showing you how I 
translate it in the P. M. G, or in a proof. ... On other points your 
brother convinced me. I must send you some remarkable intima- 
tions about our friends the Uommibatti ; let us hope that by being 
eaten they will multiply and earn a livelihood. This is from a Times 
article on the Victoria acclimatization society. 

"The Society acts on the principle of reciprocity, and is ready 
to lend as well as borrow. For instance, it sends us black swans for 
white, and has, besides, done its best to provide us with the wombat, 
though we fear to little purpose. This animal was recommended 
some years ago as calculated to supply a particular want — that, 



1870— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 31 

namely, of an animal available for ordinary food, and conveniently 
intermediate in size between a pig and a rabbit. Of its flesh we only 
heard that it was neither unwholesome nor disagreeable, but what 
has become of the venture we cannot say. It seems that the creature 
has been exported to Paris and Calcutta, as well as to London, so 
that the experiment ought to have had a fair chance." 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[This letter is imperfect — the first sheet of it has been lost. 
It would appear that Dante Rossetti had conveyed to his sister a 
suggestion, made by Mr. Stillman, that she should write some 
more poems, partaking (in greater or less degree) of "politics or 
philanthropy." Such would not have been Rossetti's own recom- 
mendation : as he was more than commonly opposed to the use of 
such matter as a subject for poetry. Perhaps I need scarcely trans- 
late Christina's Italian words, " tanto meglio per me" " so much the 
better for me." 



[LONDON. 
? Apri/ 1870.] 

... It is impossible to go on singing out-loud to one's one- 
stringed lyre. It is not in me, and therefore it will never come out 
of me, to turn to politics or philanthropy with Mrs. Browning : such 
many-sidedness I leave to a greater than I, and, having said my say, 
may well sit silent. "Give me the withered leaves I chose" may 
include the dog-eared leaves of one's first, last, and only book. If 
ever the fire rekindles availably, tanfo meglio per me : at the worst, 
I suppose a few posthumous groans may be found amongst my 
remains. Here is a great discovery, " Women are not Men," and 
you must not expect me to possess a tithe of your capacities, though 
I humbly — or proudly — lay claim to family-Hkeness. All this is for 
you, not for Mr. Stillman, for whom however are all our cordial 
regards. . . . 

A human being wanting to set one of my things to music has 
at last not fixed on " When I am dead," but on Grown and 
Flown, 



32 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



From Frances Rossetti to Christina Rossetti, Folkestone, 

[" Nolly " was Oliver (son of Ford) Madox Brown. — Dante Ros- 
setti's " country-lodgings," mentioned at the end of this letter, were 
the Manor-house at Kelmscott, Oxfordshire, which he rented jointly 
with William Morris.] 



56 EUSTON SQUARE. 

19 August 1870. 

My dear Christina, 

. . . Yesterday I passed a most pleasant day with Gabriel 
and William at Chelsea : your Aunts and Uncle were invited also. 
Gabriel is notably, I hope desirably, thinner : he seemed well and 
in spirits. We dined most delightfully in the tent, the pretty deer 
coming to the entrance, and eating out of our hands : he did not 
molest two ducks, a rabbit, and a cat, which sported in his wake. 
He adorns the garden which has quite run wild, and which he 
browses at his will ; he is master of almost all he surveys. We ate 
mulberries from the venerable tree, and excellent they were. Green 
figs on a recumbent branch we only looked at. Grouse came to 
table, also to our house here, a gift from my son Gabriel ; who tells 
me you are " a more spontaneous poet " than himself . . . 

Gabriel has a mole, the gift of Nolly. I cannot think he will have 
it long, though he provides it with a glass box of good dimension, 
filled with earth. Nothing short of full liberty in the garden can, I 
suppose, keep him alive ; and even of that fact there would be no 
ocular proof, as doubtless he would sink into the ground. His first 
salute to Gabriel was a bite, more regarded by me than by him- 
self . . • Gabriel continues assiduous in his painting, and will not 
go yet to his country-lodgings. . . . 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[Various poems written by Dr. Thomas Gordon Hake are the 
subject-matter of this note.] 



iSyi— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 33 



56 EUSTON SQUARE. 

[187 1 — ? End of February. '\ 

My dear Gabriel, 

Referring to your letter of weeks ago, I wish I could say 
more about Madeline ; but I altogether lost myself in its mazes, and 
perished in its quag. The Parables however are quite another 
matter. Old Souls, not to discuss every point in it, has a rugged 
nobility and beauty which I hope may strike fire out of some flints, 
and a pathos which may melt some. The Lily of the Valley too has 
continual beauty ; the Deadly Nightshade, startling awfulness. 
Perhaps, but I am not sure, the one I care for least is Immortality. 
But in all, unless we except Old Souls, I have a habit of missing the 
thread, if indeed the thread always is there to miss. Even in Made- 
line I recognize beauty — but how about meaning? The Epitaphs I 
have not studied, but the Resiirgam I read and liked. Perhaps, if I 
had not been pulled down by my abscess I might be more pointed ; 
as it is, please pardon generalities. 

Our Mother's love. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[The dreadful illness from which Christina suffered for two or 
three years — termed exophthalmic bronchocele or Dr. Graves's 
disease — began in or about April 1871. Here we find the first 
evidence of it : the handwriting is very much affected. It is like 
what Christina's handwriting, starting from the standard of March 
1 87 1, might have been expected to come to when she should be 
seventy-five years old or upwards. This collapse of handwriting 
lasted for some months, but was totally overcome in the long run.] 

56 EUSTON SQUARE, N.W. 

28 lApril 1 87 1]. 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

Thankyou for forwarding me Dr. Marston's courteous and 

complimentary letter, which I like. Perhaps you may look at it 

some day. Sir W. Jenner saw me last Saturday and pronounced me 

seriously ill : to avoid stairs I am confined to the drawing-room floor, 

3 



34 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

Our Mother sends a love of the magnitude to which we are 
accustomed. 

Please attribute intolerable hideousness in part to weakness. 



To William Rossetti, Ravenna, 

[This letter was written by Christina chiefly for the purpose of 
sending on to me any letters which had arrived to my London 
address after I had left town. — Mr. Arthur Hughes was (but I need 
scarcely specify it) the illustrator of Singsong, and all sorts of people 
have agreed with Christina in regarding his designs as " charming." — 
I forget what " the beautiful Greek album " was : probably something 
coming to me from Mr. W. J. Stillman, who had recently been United 
States Consul in Crete. — The Songs of the Sierras was the first 
volume of poetry published by Joaquin Miller. — Maria's "frontis- 
piece " appertained to her book, published about this time, A Shadow 
of Dante. ^ 



56 EUSTON SQUARE, LONDON, N.VV. 

2S fuly 1 87 1. 

My dear William, 

. . . We were setting off to-day, as Sir W. J[enner], having 
seen me, recommends sea again ; but a cold I caught has delayed 
us at least till to-morrow. 

By the by, one other letter has come for you, but it is only from 
Dalziel with a second proof of Sing Song. Mr. Hughes continues 
charming. I have written now to ask that proofs may be addressed 
to me, and of course they must follow me out of town. . . . 

I could not tell you outside (having forgotten to mention 
inside) how warmly Miss Heaton and Mr. Cayley thanked you for 
the beautiful Greek album. He wishes you also a pleasant tour. 
He called last Wednesday and stayed to dinner, and borrowed my 
Songs of the Sierras. He had just been down to Cambridge for his 
little niece's birthday. 

Maria's love. She received 4 proofs of her frontispiece to choose 
from, and Gabriel to whom she sent them made the selection. We 
have not heard from him again. . . . 



1872— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 35 

To William Rossetti, London. 

5 GLOUCESTER PLACE, FOLKESTONE. 

I September 1871. 

My dear William, 

Thankyou very much for the notes on my last proof, notes 
which I might not have ventured to make even had I had the wit for 
their composition. What a charming design is the ring of elfs pro- 
ducing the fairy ring — also the apple-tree casting its apples — also the 
three dancing girls with the angel kissing one — also I like the crow 
soaked grey stared at by his peers. 

In one way I have certainly gained ground, my appetite has 
improved ; and I walk a little better perhaps. The abscess is a 
thing of the past. Still I am weak, and less ornamental than society 
may justly demand. . . . 

I hope you now admit that England has its share of heat and 
sunshine : you might be indignant could you hear even me com- 
plaining of the heat as I do now. . . . 

Habitual ugliness has overtaken my letters — pardon. 



To William Rossetti, Roehamptdn. 

[This letter relates to the very alarming illness of Dante Rossetti, 
then staying at the house of Dr. Hake at Roehampton. He was at 
first supposed to be struck down by serous apoplexy, and likely to 
die, with the " one fearful alternative " of loss of reason. — Mr. 
[Henry Treffry] Dunn was his art-assistant. — Christina was herself at 
this time confined to bed with her malady, and not capable of 
moving \ whereas our Mother and Maria, along with myself, were 
for two or three days housed by Dr. Hake.] 



[56 EUSTON SQUARE. 

lojjote 1872.] 

Mv OWN DEAR William, 

Thankyou warmly for your note received before 4 last 
night : it helped me — with its comparatively hopeful news — to 
get soundly to sleep at last. I have now seen Mr. Brown fresh 



36 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

from Mr. Marshall, but before this reaches you he will have told 
you what he told me. I know not (having heard of one fearful 
alternative) what to hope : but with my whole heart I commit our 
extremity to Almighty God. 

My love, please, to dearest Mamma and Maria. I am getting on 
capitally, and Aunt Eliza nurses me most kindly : her love to all, and 
mine too if it could reach Gabriel. Lucy called this morning full of 
grief and sympathy. I have seen Mr. Dunn's telegram to Mr. Brown. 

No letter has come to be sent on. 



To William Rossetti, London. 

[Trowan, a farmhouse near Crieff in Perthshire, was the place 
where Dante Gabriel was now recruiting his health, in company with 
Dr. and Mr. George Hake. — The phrase " paint all a lover's smart " 
&c. refers to a funny poem by Thomas Hood, called Love Lane, 
which afforded many a laugh to Christina and the rest of us from 
of old. Hood shows how a lover in a rural retreat paid court to his 
fair one, interrupted by various too-attentive insects, &c. — 

'* And painted all a lover's smart, 
Except a wasp gone up his arm."] 



GLOTTENHAM. 

31 August 1872. 

My dear William, 

I have never yet thanked you direct for the loan of those 
funny German caricatures you sent me a while ago. The stork's nest 
in a hoop, and the frog ill for three weeks, are good — so indeed are 
many more. 

Mamma, with love and warm expression of joy at the excellent 
news from Trowan, returns herein the Hake correspondence. Such 
friends as Dr. Hake and his son are rarer and more precious than 
gold. I wrote to Gabriel, not quite certain how my letter might 
answer ; but now I am thoroughly re-assured, and rejoice that I did 
so. 

One day here is so very like another that there is not much news 



1872— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 37 

for a letter even to my brother of brothers. Two robins haunt the 
garden — one afternoon emmets (?) appeared in swarms. Here one 
might from time to time " paint all a lover's smart, except " (happily 
not a wasp, but say) " a midge gone up his arm. . . ." 

We expect to return home on the nth; and soon after I may 
keep house with you, as in old days, in much harmony. 



To William Rossetti. 

[Mr. Stauros Dilberoglue was a Greek merchant in the City 
of London, a man of fine character and more than average ability. 
He had recently lost his wife, and asked Christina to accept one of 
her belongings, an Indian shawl. — For the wedding of Dr. Francis 
Hueffer and Cathy Brown, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema painted 
portraits of the couple framed jointly : I have now forgotten what 
the quotation was, but it was something from which an evil omen 
might have been drawn. — Christina's " fearful brownness " was one 
_of the symptoms of her illness, and was indeed highly observable. — 
Madame Bodichon was that excellent lady known earlier as Miss 
Barbara Leigh-Smith : she had an estate in Sussex not far from 
Glottenham. — Dante Gabriel was at this date still in Scotland, and 
there was some likelihood that he would not only not return thence 
direct to Tudor House, Chelsea, but would even see about wholly 
quitting that house and living elsewhere in or near London. As a fact, 
he settled for many months at Kelmscott Manorhouse, Oxfordshire, 
and then returned to Tudor House.] 

GLOTTENHAM. 

[5 September 1872.] 

My dear William, 

Thankyou for your dear letter received this morning. I 
am quite delighted with the Indian shawl, Mr. Dilberoglue's generous 
present; and suppose it may be the handsomest gift I ever in my 
life received. 

I am so glad Maria enjoyed Cathy's wedding-feast, and that your 
shawl shone amongst the presents. Also I am pleased that the 
bridal portrait includes my negligee, but not pleased at the inap- 
propriate dismalness of the quotation by Alma Tadema. I hope 
Dr. Hiiffer is not superstitious. 



38 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

Please do not think me obstinate for returning home with Mamma 
on the nth, despite your and Maria's kindness. I feel languid and 
sometimes low here, besides another inconvenient symptom, and 
think that I may have to consult Dr. Wilson Fox not long after my 
return. Pro you will find me fatter \ contra of a fearful brownness. 

Mme. Bodichon's kindness adds considerably to our pleasure here, 
and certainly she is a charming woman. 

Dear old Gabriel — I incline to hope very earnestly that he will not 
return to Chelsea. I am so sorry for your inconvenience in sleeping 
at Tudor House. 



To Dante Rossetti, Kelinscott. 

[Though Christina did not comprehend the inscription, there is 
nothing difficult in it, if only one remembers a certain phrase in 
Dante's Paradiso. The medal, bronze, is a good work of art, done 
by Signor Cerbara.] 



17 ROBERTSON TERRACE, HASTINGS. 

28 April 1873. 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

. . . Dearest Mamma is very well again, and wonderfully 
well in her feet, which now bear her about in comfort. / am very 
well too, all things considered. 

Winter has been with us again, but to-day gives hopes of spring 
or summer to come. A Bath chair is to come for me at 12.30, to 
take me out for the first time since our coming down. We think of 
returning home on the 20th May, a little before WiUiam talks of 
going abroad. 

Very likely, with or before this you will receive from Maria in 
London the bronze medal of our Father sent from Italy. The 
likeness is not all we might desire, but still the medal is very 
interesting to us. The inscription I confess I do not yet comprehend. 

Mrs. Madox Brown and Lucy called on us before we left London, 
the latter looking pale but not complaining of illness. What a 
delightful person she is ! . . . 

Our cordial remembrances, please, to Mr. I Take. 



i873— TO LUCY BROWN 39 



To William Rossetti, Venice. 

56 EUSTON SQUARE, LONDON, N.W. 

IT June 1873. 

My dear William, 

. . . Thankyou for such kind thought of me and my 
health. I cannot tell you how much better I am ; downstairs again, 
and with some latitude as to going out. Maria came home from 
Eastbourne yesterday, looking well, and feeling also better ; though 
we still have cause for anxiety about her. Her love to you ; and, a 
size bigger, our Mother's. 

Mamma and I are thinking of Kelmscott : Gabriel has been written 
to, and we are now awaiting his answer. . . . 

To-day I got an application for leave to insert Uphill in a Tauchnitz 
vol. of poetry : Yes, of course. The letter is apparently from Amelia 
B. Edwards — at least, I hope it is the autograph. . . . 

My looks have met with some amount of approval. 



To Lucy Brown [Rossetti]. 

[This letter was written (as its terms indicate) as soon as Christina 
had received notice of the engagement between Lucy Brown and 

myself.] 

THE MANOR HOUSE, KELMSCOTT, LECHLADE. 

\oJtdy 1873. 
My dear, dear Lucy, 

I should like to be a dozen years younger, and worthier 
every way of becoming your sister ; but, such as I am, be sure of my 
loving welcome to you as my dear sister and friend. I hope William 
will be all you desire ; and, as I know what he has been to me, a 
most loving and generous brother, I am not afraid of his being less 
than a devoted husband to you. May love, peace, and happiness, 
be yours and his together in this world, and together much more in 
the next ; and, when earth is an anteroom to heaven (may it be so, 
of God's mercy to us all), earth itself is full of beauty and goodness. 



40 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To William Rossetti, London. 

THE MANOR HOUSE, KELMSCOTT, LECHLADE. 

lojiily 1873. 

My very dear William, 

You have brought a fresh spring of happiness and interest 
into our family, and the kindness with which your letter alludes to 
me in one general sentence is warm in my heart. Who shall wish 
you well except the sister whom you have cared for all her life? If 
dear Lucy and you are as happy as I would (if I could) make 
you, earth will be the foretaste and stepping-stone to heaven. Her 
sweetness, amiability, and talent, make her a grace and honour to us 
— but I need not state this to you. . . . 

How much will have to be settled when Mamma returns home ! 
I had a little friendly chat with Mrs. Brown this morning, and find 
her and hers as full of welcome as we are. I have ventured to write 
affectionately to Lucy. 



To Dante Rossetti, Kelmscott. 

[Dizi, called more properly Dizzy in some published letters of 
Dante Rossetti, was a black-and-tan terrier, of ample canine sagacity.] 



56 EUSTON SQUARE, LONDON, N.W. 

\J"ly IS73-] 
My dear Gabriel, 

The delightful life at Kelmscott ought not soon to slip from 
my memory, nor ought I soon to forget whose kindness provided me 
with so many pleasures. Our mother, with a most maternal love, 
joins me in recording the pleasures of our visit to you. Our 
journey home was completely prosperous. Once in the railway 
carriage, Dizi behaved very well : at Oxford, instead of the servant 
Mr. Hake had promised to send, two gentlemen (the two Mr. 
Mackays I conclude) took us all in charge and relieved us of all 



i873— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 41 

trouble. Of course you have heard since ; but they gave us an excel- 
lent account of Mr. Hake, who had his doctor's permission to go out 
the following day. When you see that most amiable of men pray 
remember us both most cordially to him ; he was a marked element 
in our enjoyment . . . 

To-day all the Browns are engaged to dine here. Yesterday I 
called in Fitzroy Sq., and already Lucy has paid her respects to 
Mamma in this house. She is as sweet and engaging as ever in her 
new position, and there seems promise of happiness to come . . . 



To Oliver Madox Brown. 

[Oliver Brown, aged eighteen, was now about to publish his first 
novel entitled Gabriel Denver ; at a later date it was re-issued 
(cutting out some alterations which had been introduced to conciliate 
the publishers) under the name of The Black Swa?i^ 

56 EUSTON SQUARE. 

[C.>/yi873.] 
My DEAR Nolly, 

Thankyou very warmly for permitting us to read Gabriel 
Denver in proof. My Mother joins me in admiration of the talent 
of which it is full ; which realizes and conveys so vividly, and wields 
both power and beauty. I like touches about animals, and sympathy 
with their poor little cares and fortunes. What I do not like (if you 
will suffer my boldness) are the characters of your principal person- 
ages. Surely they are detestable ; unless Laura's weakness saves 
her from so strong a brand. Still, I am happy the two gained the 
shore. . . . 



To William Rossetti, Somerset House. 

[I quite forget what Christina's " ebullition of temper " may 
have been : can safely say it was a trifle. Her " sleeping in the 
library " (the back parlour) was remedied by her sleeping, with our 
mother, in the back drawing-room. Thus, following the date of my 
marriage, 31 March 1874, things continued until Michaelmas 1876, 
when they two removed to another house, 30 Torrington Square.] 



42 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



56 EUSTON SQUARE, N.W. 

[5 November 1873.] 

My dear William, 

I am truly sorry for my ebullition of temper this morning 
(and for a hundred other faults), and not the less so if it makes what 
follows seem merely a second and more serious instance. 

My sleeping in the library cannot but have made evident to you 
how improper a person I am to occupy any room next a dining-room. 
My cough (which surprised Lucy, as I found afterwards, the other 
day at dinner), . . . makes it unseemly for me to be continually and 
unavoidably within earshot of Lucy and her guests. You I do not 
mention, so completely have you accommodated yourself to the trying 
circumstances of my health: but, when a "love paramount" reigns 
amongst us, even you may find such toleration an impossibility. I 
must tell you that not merely am I labouring under a serious relapse 
into heart-complaint and consequent throat-enlargement (for which I 
am again under Sir William Jenner's care), but even that what 
appeared the source of my first illness has formed again, and may 
, for aught I can warrant once more have serious issues. 

The drift of all this is that (through no preference for me over 
you as you may well believe, but because of my frail state which 
lays me open to emergencies requiring help from which may you 
long be exempt) our Mother, if I am reduced to forego all your 
brotherly bounty provides for me, will of her own unhesitating 
choice remove with me. We believe that from all sources we shall 
have enough between us, and you know that our standard of comfort 
does not include all the show demanded by modern luxury. I have 
very little doubt that an arrangement may be entered into which 
shall lodge us under one roof with my Aunts ; thus securing to us 
no despicable amount of cheerful companionship, and of ready aid 
in sickness. 

Dear William, I should not wonder if you had been feeling this 
obvious difficulty very uncomfortably, yet out of filial and brotherly 
goodness had not chosen to start it : if so, I cannot rejoice enough 
that my perceptions have woke up to some purpose. 

I do not know whether any possible modification (compatible 



i874— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 43 

with all our interests, and not least with Lucy's) may occur to you 
as to arrangements ; to me, I confess, there scarcely seems any way 
out of the difficulty short of a separation. Perhaps in a day or so 
you will let Mamma or me know what you judge best. 

Of course Mamma is in grief and anxiety ; her tender heart 
receives all stabs from every side. — If you wonder at my writing 
instead of speaking, please remember my nerves and other weak 
points. 

To Dante Rossetti, Kelmscott. 

[" My book " is Annus Domini, which contains a prefatory poem. 
— By " a story of mine," Christina meant the Speaking Likenesses. 
Mr. Arthur Hughes was secured as illustrator of the volume. Mr. 
James Smetham, a painter well known to and valued by Dante 
Rossetti, is esteemed now in virtue of some of his writings as well.] 



SOUTHSEA HOUSE, MARINE PARADE, EASTBOURNE. 

4 May 1874. 

My DEAR Gabriel, 

It is worth while molesting you with words, because I can 
tell you that our dearest Mother really has rallied at this nice place. 
She goes out for her little walks, her little sits, her church, and I 
hope is on the mend for this long while to come. Her dear love to 
you ; and Maria's love as genuinely, though I fear we shall soon lose 
Maria from our hearth in favour of her new " Home." 

Our sitting-room here reminds me of beloved Kelmscott, though 
I fear you would draw the line at its wall-paper. Its crossbeam in 
the ceiling you should not demur to. 

Thankyou for all the kind thought you have taken in finding what 
to say of my book. I despaired of your saying aught for its verse. 
Elsewhere I have had a few pleasant mentions of it, but nothing 
especially cut out for report to you. I hear Mrs. Scott with Miss Boyd 
have called in Euston Square since we left, and that the former likes 
my little book, I having sent it her. 

Do you see (what I am told through two or three reporters, for I 
have not myself seen it) that The Athenccuni has announced a story 



44 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

of mine to come out with Macmillan? Funnily enough, I did not 
know matters were concluded between Mac and me, but now I hope 
they are. I tried to get the illustrations for Hughes, and secondarily 
for Smetham, but know not whether with any result. The story is 
merely a Christmas trifle, would-be in the Alice style with an eye to 
the market. . . . 

Our remembrances, please, most cordially to Mr. Hake. I am 
very much better for this pleasant change. 



To William Rossetti, Naples. 

[Dr. Littledale may be remembered as a high-church clergyman 
who wrote various books. He was an Irishman, and, though highly 
serious in his public capacity, full of agreeable pleasantry in 
private.] 

SOUTHSEA HOUSE, MARINE PARADE, EASTBOURNE. 

15 May 1S74. 

My dear William, 

Most welcomely your nice little card of news has reached 
our Mother this morning, and has assured us of Lucy and your safe 
return home. To think that you two now have one home and one 
heart — may they be full of peace, love, and happiness. 

Mamma, Aunt C, and Aunt E., join me in two loves; which two 
are the largest couple you will know. . . . 

We fully expect (d.v.) to dine with you on Saturday 23, and re- 
pitch our tents at home. My Aunts mean to return to Bloomsbury 
Sq. the same day. . . . 

I have heard again from Mr. Macmillan, and find he is treating 
with Mr. Arthur Hughes about illustrating my Christmas story ; so 
of course this is accepted, to my great contentment. He asked me 
about illustrators, and I proposed — or rather I expressed my own 
preference for — A. H. : wherefore I am pleased. 

We are particularly well lodged here as to situation, in nice rooms 
and with nice people. Poor Mamma has caught cold I know not 
how, but still I hope this will not neutralize the good already 
achieved : I myself thrive, and show mitigated looks to boot. I hope 
Annus Donwii has met with a fraternal welcome at your hands and 



&/■ 



u^" 




\A/.T7>T,iIr0l4r 



/'-t 






CoTtvwifTl. Jo t*vVlJW- 






y#»>t<t- ^Vi- 



From Pencil Drawings by Christina Rossetti. 
Animals in the Zoological Gardens, London, c. 1862. 



[ To face /. 45. 



i874— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 45 

heart. Various more or less pleasant mentions have been made of 
it, particularly one which has gratified me in a note of acceptance 
from Dr. Littledale. 

I need not " hope " you have enjoyed this trip. 

To Dante Rossetti, Kebnscott. 

[If I remember right, this proposed visit of our mother and 
Christina to Kelmscott did not take effect. My wife and I were 
there for a few days, and my brother began a well-known head of my 
wife in coloured chalks ; finished soon afterwards when he had re- 
settled in London.] 

56 EUSTON SQUARE, LONDON, N.W. 

22 June [1874]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

Your letters always cheer our Mother, as a country rose 
cheers a Londoner, or the first Spring day overtakes all the world. 
With a very warm love she acknowledges the pleasure of your in- 
vitation (in which I thankfully claim my share), and, weighing all 
circumstances on your side and on our own, thinks that Tuesday 
30th {not this week, but next week) will suit us all for the 
commencement of our visit. . . . 

Mamma understands from William this morning that he and 
Lucy go to you next Saturday, but of course they write for them- 
selves to you. . . . 

To Dante Rossetti, Kelmscott. 

[" My fruitless apple-tree " was a decorative design by Christina, 
who at rare intervals adventured upon some such performance. — 
Her Winning Ways was a novel by Dr. Hake published in a 
magazine.] 

56 EUSTON SQUARE. 

[C. 21 June 1874.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

This is a word to tell you the upshot of my fruitless 
"Apple-tree." Mr. Morris has written me a truly obliging letter, 
finding something to praise, but setting-up a standard of such com- 



46 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

plicated artistic perfection as (I fear) no alterations of mine can ever 
by possibility attain. " In due season I found no apples there "... 
Warm thanks to Mr. Hake for Her Winning Ways, which Mamma 
and I are reading and enjoying together. I should not have 
expected such overflowing punnishness from grave and dignified Dr. 
Hake. The mystery is an interesting one, and leads one on, but we 
have not yet gone very far. 

To Dante Rossetti, Chelsea. 

["Your beautiful present" was an old Italian painting, not of large 
dimensions, which had been sent to Dante Rossetti by some unknown 
hand, and which he transferred to Maria. It was of some religious 
subject, and he (I know not on what authority) regarded it as the 
work of Pietro Laurati. — The reference to chloral as taken by my 
wife indicates that, during an early stage of our married life, she now 
and then took a dose to procure sleep. With her it acted perfectly 
well : but, on learning that the reverse was the case with my brother, 
she abandoned it, and never resumed its use. — " Poor Nolly " 
[Oliver Madox Brown] had recently returned, with myself and 
others, from a brief stay in Margate, where he suffered much from 
pains, at that time chiefly in a foot. It was the beginning of the 
disease, pyaemia, which brought his life to a close on 5 November 
1874. My brother was now re-settled in Cheyne Walk. The 
address given by Christina, 1 2 Bloomsbury Square, was the residence 
of our Aunt Eliza Polidori, and (when in London) Charlotte. Our 
mother and Christina, though dwelling with me in Euston Square, were 
pretty frequently staying with my aunts.] 

12 nLOOMSBURY SQUARE, W.C. 

28 {^September 1874]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

... I am quite pleased at the prospect of Maria's so soon 
receiving your beautiful present, and doubt not she will in the first 
instance transport it to Margaret St., though thence I dare say it 
will soon be despatched to Eastbourne — at least, at some time. I 
hope we shall see it first. We saw her on Saturday, when she 
appeared tolerably well though by no means free from weak points. 
Mamma continues admirable, and is her own dear gently-active self 
again. This afternoon William paid her a visit, and reports Lucy 



i874— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 47 

and her family home again from Margate : when she can sleep with- 
out chloral well, I trust she may have recovered to all intents and 
purposes. Poor Nolly has been doubtfully pronounced on by Mr. 
Marshall, but his symptoms do not distinctly declare themselves ; only 
he must take great care. I hope your change of servants will prove 
a success \ I should regard with an eye of callous philosophy obesity 
and Hogarthianism, especially if not shared by the housemaid. I 
have just heard from Mrs. Morris, who asked particulars about East- 
bourne Hospital for the sake of a poor young Icelandic woman she 
is interested in, and who has been quite blind though now somewhat 
bettered, and happily I was able to impart some details as well as to 
suggest the way of obtaining fuUer information. I hope the poor 
thing may benefit if sent there by her kind friends. My Aunts join 
in love to you. . . . 

I have now seen all Mr. Hughes's illustrations to my little story, 
and hope they are pretty enough to please you in due course. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

12 BLOOMSBURY SQUARE, W.C. 

[I October 1 874.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

There was a visible brightening up amongst us on receiving 
your good-natured proposal of a second day together : and our family 
conclave fixes on either to-morrow Friday, or next Monday. If you 
do not write at all, we will understand you to accept Monday, and 
arrive in caravan that afternoon. ... I hail the prospect of seeing 
again the Proserpine, and for the first time the Veronica : where in 
England and its studios is your peer ? 

To Dante Rossetti. 

56 EUSTON SQUARE, N.W. 

[5 November 1874.] 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

Here is my book at last ; and I hope Mr. Hughes will meet 
with your approval, even if you skip my text. 

Do you know that poor Nolly is so extremely ill that I even think 



48 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

it possible that he may not Uve till this reaches you ? He did survive 
last night, and this morning Sir W. Jenner and Mr. Marshall are 
making one more effort to save his life, but I know not whether with 
real hope of success. . . . 

My title page has a " thereof " which dismays me; but I missed 
seeing the proof both of that and of the list of illustrations, of which 
latter I never thought. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[The poems of Canon (Richard Watson) Dixon are the subject of 
this letter.] 

56 EUSTON SQUARE, N.W. 

[C. 20 June 1875.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

Many thanks indeed for bringing Mamma and me ac- 
quainted with a poet. She is greatly impressed with the sublime 
beauty of some part, and I with the frequent excellence ; also we 
echo some of your " ! " Do you think the rock, if any, Mr. Dixon 
tends to split on is dryness ? You see which way my verdict inclines, 
but I honour yours. . . . 

I am returning Mr. Dixon's 2 volumes to you, with this. 

To William Rossetti. 

[" The three Austins " were relatives of my mother — cousins of 
some sort. I question whether I myself ever saw any of them. — Dora 
Greenwell was of course the poetess, tolerably well known to 
Christina: by me, slightly known and considerably liked.] 

all saints mission home, 2 ROYAL PARK, CLIFTON, BRISTOL. 

II [August 1875.] 

My dear William, 

It seems a human observance to write and announce our 
safe arrival and well-being, and so I go on to do ; but, as you know, 
news does not abound on such like occasions. . . . We are most 
comfortably lodged and entertained here, our one austere point being 



i875— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 49 

an absence of carpets : all else abounds and is excellent. Clifton 
would 1 think be too Cheltenhamy for you ; yet a nice place it appears, 
refreshingly tree-full, blossoming right and left, and suggesting a 
highly advantageous St. John's Wood. The Down, however, far 
excels any feature known to me of that quarter, and affords a really 
good drive. The stone quarried hereabouts is varied with fine shades 
of red, and walls gain greatly by this circumstance. On some 
houses the great white magnolia blooms, and on one to-day I spied 
the rare sight of a myrtle in blossom. Our 3 remaining weeks seem 
to promise much satisfaction, for we still propose returning to London 
on the 31st. 

We have called on or been called on by all the three Austins, but 
the only one actually seen is old Mrs. Austin. I also have paid 
private and personal visits to Dora Greenwell, who appears a good 
deal invalided, but failed not to evince interest on hearing of your 
marriage. . . . Bristol, by the by, looks a picturesque town ; and I 
find there is a local zoo. 



To William Rossetti. 

[Mrs. Greenwell, when I saw her towards 1862, was an old lady of 
very fine presence and motherly engaging manner. — My wife and 
I were at present staying for a short while in Fitzroy Square, with 
Madox Brown and his wife. Probably Miss Mathilde Blind, the 
poetess, was also there, and we may have offered to take her with 
us on our returning to Euston Square.] 



ALL SAINTS MISSION HOME, 2 ROYAL PARK, CLIFTON, BRISTOL. 

[17 August 1S75.] 

My DEAR William, 

... I called on Dora again yesterday and gave her your 
cordial remembrances, which she returns in kind. She still recollects 
your kind attentiveness to her mother, who, old as she was, began 
reading your Dante ; and now she has her mother's photograph of 
you. Poor thing, her health is apparently very much shattered, 
though one Dr. appears not hopeless of doing her good. 

I recollect Vemis Astarte^ a noble drawing, and one which I 
4 



50 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

hope Gabriel may delight in painting. ^2000 too is, I suppose, a 
good price even for his work. 

Very friendly of you to house Miss Blind. I hope you are com- 
fortable in Fitzroy Sq., and am sure you are all the more so by 
sympathy with Lucy's period of comfort. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

2 ROYAL PARK, CLIFTON. 

^August 1875.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

I was not thinking of writing to you from this pretty but 
civilized (and therefore not suitable to you) place, — when, last 
Saturday, we spent the day some six miles out of Clifton, at Berwick 
Lodge, a house standing in its own grounds, which include an actual 
wood, and the house itself and garden and lawn reminding me of 
dear Kelmscott. Unlike K[elmscott] however, the garden is slopy, 
and the country round-about hilly : the lawn commands a splendid 
descent of fields, ending in a good glimpse of the Bristol Channel, 
this again backed at one part by distant Welsh mountains. The 
house itself is very inferior to K[elmscott] in outside beauty, but 
inside (I should say) fully its equal in scale and comfort. A Mr. 
Lewis is at present the landlord ; he keeps the farm belonging thereto 
in his own hands, and lets Berwick Lodge with its grounds and 
furniture (which includes many nice old things, I think, and quaint 
objects of art) at a,\ guineas per week. ... I could not see this 
charming well-wooded place in a fine hilly country without thinking 
of you : and, if my telling you about it serves no other purpose, it 
will at least illustrate my impotent good-will. . . . The great draw- 
back I hear of is that in the hunting-season huntsmen overrun the 
very lawn by the house. I do not know how near the Avon may or 
may not be. All I know is that it runs through Bristol, Clifton and 
Bristol forming in fact one town. 

Our day at Berwick Lodge took place because " our Superior " is 
staying there with her family, and invited us all three over for a visit. 
It came off pleasantly, in spite of such a wet drive home in an open 
vehicle as might have depressed a being less buoyant than myself. 



i875— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 51 

I think you know Dora Greenwell. I have been seeing her down 
here; and am quite struck with her large-mindedness, really liking 
her. She is far more dilapidated than myself, poor thing. 

Do you take any active interest counter that horror of horrors, 
Vivisection ? In case you or any of your chums do, and would sign, 
I enclose a paper to which I am trying to get names, — and which I 
am sure you will at any rate oblige me by sending me back signed 
or unsigned. You had better, please, direct it to Euston Square, 
where (d.v.) we shall be to-morrow. 

Mamma and Maria join in love to you. This excursion has suited 
our healths and our tastes all round. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

12 BLOOMSBURY SQUARE. 

{September 1875.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

I am the more obliged by your personal kindness to myself 
which has led you to sign though without thorough agreement. I 
used to believe with you that chloroform was so largely used as to 
do away with the horror of vivisection ; but a friend has so urged 
the subject upon me, and has sent me so many printed documents 
alleging and apparently establishing the contrary, that I have felt 
impelled to do what little I could to gain help against what (as I 
now fear) is cruelty of revolting magnitude. Mamma is cut to the 
heart by details she has read, and has given her dear name also to 
the cause. I have been much struck by M. Ne'laton's verdict on 
the same question ; and, in case his name may have weight with 
you, I venture to enclose one fly-leaf which has struck me, and 
which of course I will not trouble you to return. 

My date shows that we are at Bloomsbury Square with my 
Aunts. . . . 

We came home from Clifton last Tuesday, and on Wednesday 
came on here. William and Lucy prosper, though the latter with 
various drawbacks at this particular moment : perhaps before we get 
home again you and I may own a small nephew or niece ! . . . 



52 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

To Dante Rossetti. 

12 BLOOMSBURY SQUARE. 

21 ^September 1875]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

We have a niece ! Born about 8 o'clock ... on yester- 
day evening, the 20th. Both mother and child safe, and William 
our informant this morning. . . . 

We think Maria will soon now be " professed " — and till then she 
is likely perhaps to enjoy less leisure than usual : but she still has 
her Saturday afternoon with our Mother. 

Mamma's very best love to you. 

I have at last harvested ^5 from Sing-Song ! ! Both Aunts send 
love. 



To Dante Rossetti, Bognor. 

[Rossetti was now staying at Aldwick Lodge, Bognor, whence 
Christina had recently returned. — By " the Lays " she meant 
Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rof?ie, a book which had been a great 
favourite with us in early days. — "Old Mrs. Harrison," the flower- 
painter, has been previously mentioned in this correspondence. — The 
term " my unwieldiness " relates to the unwieldiness (as pointed out 
by Dante Rossetti) of the title of a poem by Christina, The Liiquity 
of the Fathers upon the Children : he had proposed as a substitute 
simply l/pon the Children. — Mr. J. H. Ingram is now well known 
in literature as the biographer of Edgar Poe and of Marlowe, &c.] 



56 EUSTON square, LONDON, N.W. 

[1875 — C. 30 Novetnber.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

Your letter full of interest has been one of our Mother's 
pleasures this morning, and she is sending it on to Maria, so it will 
do double duty of entertainment. She would like to have seen your 
fine fan of sea-flag ; and certainly, if the oyster-shell is as legible as 
your transcript, its monogram stamps it as all her own. Though 
we are no longer at Aldwick I assure you we dwell in a semi-arctic 



1875— to; DANTE ROSSETTI 53 

region of our own, and truly sorry I am if your atmosphere is much 
colder than ours : I think not merely the sparrows and robin, but 
even the thrush, blackbird, and wagtails, may have to capitulate if you 
spread their board for them : perhaps the actual tom-tit may present 
himself on his least of legs. . . . 

All cordial regards from us both, please, to Mrs, Morris. I am 
sorry our last parcel proved so barren. For the Vicar of Wakefield 
(about the size of 3 thumbs, and therefore no burdensome mistake) 
I was answerable, as also for the Lays which I thought might 
possibly have become a book not universally known to a younger 
generation than our own. Now I have done up ready for the rail 6 
vols, (one entire set, that is) of the Walpole Letters : and if these 
please you there are 6 more, and also an additional 3 containing 
the Miss Berrys' Journal and Correspondence which have to do with 
the same period and circle, at your service . . . 

I do not know whether by rummaging for additions you will 
discover enough to make you accept a copy of my new edition, but 
f so I have one ready for you . . . 

Yesterday I received a letter in deepest mourning, telling me of 
the death of old Mrs. Harrison, some of whose daughters we must 
have known on and ofiT for something like 30 years. Emily, one of 
the 2 youngest, wrote to me : her Mother (87 as the Daily News 
shows) worked almost to the very last, and died most peacefully in 
an armchair. The kind old lady whilst I was so ill sent me at 
different times 2 of her own drawings — wild roses and violets ; and 
I am pleased to find that I am now to receive some little 
remembrance. 

I fear you are right about my " unwieldiness " : yet I am not sure 
that the half-title you propose would have been sufficiently intelligible. 
William seemed to think not, when he had read your letter this 
morning. I might however very likely have chosen something briefer 
than one and more lucid than the other. . . . 

I have had one favorable review of my new edition in the Glasgow 
Neivs : I know of no other, at least as yet. Do you recollect our 
being unable to identify a certain " Don Felix de Salamanca " who 
published my fac-simile in a N" of the Pictorial World 7 He turns 
out to be a certain Mr. Ingram from whom I have heard once or 



54 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

twice, and who would now like to send a notice of my fresh edition 
to the same periodical : I have referred the matter to Mr. Macmillan 
for decision. 

Our kindest remembrances belong to Mr. Hake, whether he be at 
Brighton or at home. I cannot help thinking B. may be an ill- 
chosen abode for his neuralgic Father, my first (and very severe) 
acknowledged fit of neuralgia having overtaken me there when I 
was 17. 

To Dante Rossetti, Bognor. 

[Christina here repHes as to the little poem, No thank you, John. 
She says that John never " existed or exists " ; and this she must 
have alleged in some sense not inconsistent with truth, for I question 
whether in her whole life she ever " told a lie." Yet John was not 
absolutely mythical ; for, in one of her volumes which I possess, 
Christina made a pencil-jotting, " The original John was obnoxious, 
because he never gave scope for ' No thank you ! ' " This John was, 
I am sure, the marine painter John Brett, who (at a date long 
antecedent, say 1852) had appeared to be somewhat smitten with 
Christina. I presume the point of reconciliation between her two 
rather conflicting statements is that there never existed any John to 
whom "No thank you" had been, or could have been, said. John 
there was, but not a John who was negatived.] 

12 BLOOMSBURY SQUARE. 

14 \December 1875]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

Your most kind invitation has met with a great sucess here 
though not (alas !) with good Maria. My Aunts join in love and 
thanks with Mamma and me, and in the hope of seeing you at 
Christmas. . . . 

Now about Mr. Hake, to whom our warm compliments — there is 
not the slightest pretence for his taking charge of us. Three of us 
will cherish and guard the Mamma adequately, wrap her up like a 
coachman, and hand her a muff at the right moment. Of course to 
see his kind face anywhere and at any moment is agreeable, but not 
to win sight of it by false pretences. 

Now for a little bit about my new ed[ition]. It gratifies me 



i875— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 55 

much to receive your sympathetic praise, and find you care to accept 
the copy I store for you. The whole subject of youthful poems 
grows anxious in middle age, or may at some moments appear so; 
one is so different, and yet so vividly the same. I am truly sorry if 
I have judged amiss in including The Lowest Room ; which however, 
I remind you, had already seen light in Mac's Mag. To my thinking 
it is by no means one of the most morbid or most personal of the 
group ; but I am no good judge in my own cause. As to " John," 
as no such person existed or exists, I hope my indiscretion may be 
accounted the less ; and Flora (if that is the " next " you allude to) 
surely cannot give deep umbrage. The latter I hardly think as open 
to comment as My Secret : but this last is such a favourite with me 
that please don't retort " nor do I." Further remarks, if any, when 
we meet. Till when and en pennanence, Your &c. . . . 

To Dante Rossetti, Bognor. 

12 BLOOMSBURV SQUARE. 

[1875 — ? 22 December. \ 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

. . . Your letter says " Ford Junction," but of course this 
is a mere mis-write for " Barnham " ditto. If we are not met, 
"strong-minded loveliest woman," four strong, can coach herself. 

After impervious density I begin to see light (I think) on your 
objection to The Loioest Roo77i ; and I already regret having in- 
serted it, you having scale-dipping weight with me. Bulk was a 
seductive element. However, as to date, it ivas written before my 
first volume appeared: so certainly before Miss J[ean] I[ngelow] 
misled me any-whither. I still don't dislike it myself, but can lay no 
claim to impartiality. 

I met Mr. Cayley at the Museum on Monday, and, hearing we 
were about to visit you, he asked to be remembered. He is going to 
pass Christmas with his family at Hastings. 

Maria has let us see your charming letter, herself highly appre- 
ciating it. 

The hideousness of this letter I charge on my paper costing dd 
for 5 quires. 



56 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To Dante Rossetti, Bognor. 

12 BLOOMSBURY SQUARE, LONDON. 

[1876 — ? January. ~\ 

My dear Gabriel, 

. . . Our good old friend Mr. Cayley has just lost his mother, 
aged 80. She died on the 30th. I do not know whether you will 
offer him a word of sympathy at such a moment, but in case you 
will (I think he is sensitive to friendly kindness) I add his address : — 

4 South Crescent, 

Bedford Square, W.C. 

Mamma's love to you, and both Aunts' ; and a batch of friendli- 
nesses to Mr. Hake. We carry on rubbers here as at Aldwick, and 
with similarly varying success ; but here we draw for deal and for 
partners. 

From Maria Rossetti. 

[This letter has little intrinsic importance : but, as it is the only 
one I find from Maria, whose life was now near its end (she died in 
the ensuing November), I have thought it worth inserting.] 

all saints, CLIFTON. 

14 July [1876]. 

My dear Christina, 

Very many thanks for yours and all enclosures. I am to go 
to Eastbourne on the 29th — delightful fact — and hope we shall all 
travel together : arrangements of course hereafter. I have written to 
S[ister] Anne. This morning I was very low, but am really much 
better this afternoon, and in a nice room opposite my own to change 
the air ; presently I am actually going down to Vespers. Two of my 
class, happening to come in, were quite affectionate. They seem 
getting on fairly with their examination. . . . Really matters are 
good about Singsong. ... I am now reading Mile. Mori, a very 
interesting story indeed : no author's name. . . . 

Love to the crowned Queen of Dears. 



1876— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 57 

To Dante Rossetti, Chelsea. 

[This letter indicates, in brief terms, the impending break-up of 
the common home of our mother and Christina with myself and my 
wife and child. I have had something to say of the matter in my 
book named Some Reminiscences, and need not enlarge upon it here 
Several letters in the present collection certify that the relations be- 
tween my wife and Christina, though not unvaryingly harmonious, 
had, and continued to have, a solid basis of affectionate good-will] 

56 EUSTON SQUARE, N.W. 

18 [Jidy 1876]. 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

I write because at last our holiday plans seem settled, and 
we do so want to see you again before leaving town. On the 29th 
(Saturday week, that is) Mamma and I hope to go with Maria to 
Eastbourne, and to remain all together for 4 weeks. ... I hope 
you like Mme. D'Arblay in moderation : we both do. The Arabian 
Nights is far above my praise. 

Our Euston Sq. home-party is broken up ! ! I suppose we shall 
actually move asunder between this and (say) Christmas : but no 
wonder that I do not exactly know William's plans, when I do not 
exactly know even Mamma's on which my own are wholly dependent. 
On the whole I suppose it may be best to regroup ourselves, and of 
course we part friends. William is cut up, I think, at losing our 
dearest Mother ; but I am evidently unpleasing to Lucy, and, could 
we exchange personalities, I have no doubt I should then feel with 
her feelings. 

To William Rossetti. 

ALL SAINTS HOSPITAL, EASTBOURNE. 

[2 Atigusi 1S76.] 

My dear William, 

You will like to know that our Mother got down very 
comfortably last Saturday , , . Maria is certainly very far from well ; 
but I hope this change from Clifton to Eastbourne is in her favour, 
as cannot but be Mamma's dear company : she has moreover had 
some advice since coming down. 



58 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

In the way of news we see no one and do nothing, though for 
daily intercourse our circle is fairly agreeable and over our daily 
employments we potter contentedly. I am exercising my old craft 
of painting despicable sprigs on note-paper corners, for sale at id. per 
sheet, — for the good of the house ! 

Our 3 loves to you 3 : fancy you tripled ! I hope Lucy will accept 
our loves with more conscious welcome than will Olivia ; but I will 
not wish her to accept them with a sweeter smile or a prettier little 
way. . . . 

To Lucy Rossetti. 

[It will be seen that, in respect of any past differences, Christina 
here takes blame to herself, and imputes none to her correspondent. 
There might be something to remark about this, but the less said 
the better.] 

ALL SAINTS HOSPITAL, EASTBOURNE. 

[September 1 876.] 

Mv DEAR Lucy, 

This promises to be my last as well as my first letter, for it 
merely announces to you that my Mother and I trust to be at home 
again in the course of next Saturday afternoon. . . . 

Mamma's love to yourself, and dear Willie, and her kiss to her 
dear little grand-daughter : please put me in also. We remembered 
Olive on the 20th, and I dare say she will look larger than ever on 
our return. 

Perhaps you have heard that what promises to be a comfortable 
residence has been fixed upon for our home-party in Torrington Sq., 
No. 30. I hope, when two roofs shelter us and when faults which I 
regret are no longer your daily trial, that we may regain some of that 
liking which we had as friends, and which I should wish to be only 
the more tender and warm now that we are sisters. Don't, please, 
despair of my doing better. 

Our trial here has been and still continues to be poor Maria's very 
grave indisposition. I know not what to think of it, but hope that 
first-rate medical advice in London may be blessed to her. She goes 
home with the All Saints Mother one day before ourselves, on Friday 
morning. Her love to you and William and baby. She will not at 



1876— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 59 

present resume work at Clifton, but I know not whether she may do 
so ultimately. 

No news of Gabriel. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[I am not sure whether the photographs here spoken of formed a 
regular series ; perhaps they were rather a number of photographs 
from a variety of early Italian paintings sent to Dante Rossetti from 
time to time by his friend Mr. C. Fairfax Murray. — My brother had 
recently been staying at Broadlands, Hampshire, the seat of Mr. and 
Mrs. Cowper-Temple, soon afterwards Lord and Lady Mount- 
Temple. Here he met Mrs. Sumner (a lady married to a son of a 
late Archbishop of Canterbury), of whom he spoke as resembling the 
old Roman type of beauty, as embodied in the elder Agrippina.] 

56 EUSTON SQUARE, N.W. 

{September 1876.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

I am writing for dear Maria, and with her special love to 
you, as she finds herself far too low at present for letter-writing. Her 
grateful thanks to you for the loan of the beautiful photographs, 
which she hopes to look through and delight in at a future day ; as 
yet she is too weak and exhausted from what she has so lately gone 
through to venture on so sustained an effort of attention as would be 
required to do them justice. She also sends kind regards to Mr. 
Dunn, and her thanks for his obliging kindness towards her. She is, 
as you may suppose, very sensible of the good will of old friends ; 
and I am glad to say many of these do not forget her in her devout 
retirement. Mamma and I saw her this afternoon, and at the first 
moment were very painfully impressed by her exhausted condition ; 
but she rallied somewhat as we sat with her, and was most heartily 
glad to see us. She agrees with you as to the Jewish cast of the 
modern Roman type, but feels that an " Agrippina " is quite another 
matter ; and her admiration kindles towards your Mrs. Temple and 
Mrs. Sumner (so does mine). 

We are all expecting to remove very soon now to Torrington 
Square ; my Aunts next week ; we (I suppose, perhaps) the week after. 
Lucy and baby are looked for in the course of to-morrow. . . . 



6o CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To Dante Rossetti. 

56 EUSTON SQUARE, N.W. 

{^September 1876.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

We are so glad to have understood that you are better, and 
to hope the improvement continues, — Mamma and Maria and I, 
with warm loves. 

I write to tell you how charmed Maria is with the photographs you 
have lent her, delighted by their beauty and at home in their 
devotion. She has not yet looked through all, her weakened state 
making her unequal to prolonged effort ; but she examines a few at a 
time ; and, having already reached the Pentecost one, shares your 
admiration of it. Yet indeed it is only one of several which she 
admires ; the sweet Adoration of the Shepherds charmed her, and 
I noticed her special admiration of the Martyrdom of St. Stephen. 
I am not sure whether even she will be able to arrange in order the 
whole series, but we shall see. 

Her health, poor dear, continues to make us very anxious, fluctu- 
ating frequently but not distinctly rallying. Yet she has regained a 
measure of strength ; but then other symptoms feed our uneasiness 
and check our hopes. She is so very good and patient that we need 
only regret her state for our own sakes, not for hers. Mamma and I 
are going continually to and fro to sit with her. 

We expect to move into Torrington Square, No. 30, on Monday, 
or at latest Tuesday. Aunt Charlotte is in town again. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE. 

\_Septemher 1876.] 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

I really like to let you know a little earlier about dear 
Maria. We were able to stay with her perhaps a quarter of an hour 
yesterday, she talking feebly, deeply interested in your letter which 
she had read before our arrival. . . . The All Saints Mother, talking 



1876— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 61 

to Aunt Charlotte, intimated (as I understand) quite clearly her 
hopelessness of recovery, but describes the dear thing's own mental 
readiness as such that it would need an act of resignation on her part 
to resign herself to life ; her one grief is on our Mother's account. 
Surely through the darkness God compasses her around. . . . How 
loveable of Mrs. Cowper-Temple to propose receiving and nursing 
our poor darling. 



To William Rossetti, Bellevue House, Newlyn. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C, LONDON. 

[9 October 1876.] 

My dear William, 

There is no great change from day to day in our dear 
Maria, but all I believe tends in the direction we dread. If I do 
not write again very soon, please conclude that it is because her 
condition does not vary very appreciably. But her strength has 
diminished, and her discomfort, I am sorry to believe, has increased. 
Gabriel paid her a very loving visit last Friday, sitting with her 
between one and two hours I think, quite composed, tender, and 
conversible. We left together, he bringing me home in his fly ; 
when he came in, saw Mamma and liked our dining-room. He was 
by no means looking his best ; but was able to report freedom ■ from 
limb-pains, and continued improvement in sleep combined with 
greatly diminished chloral. 

Mamma joins me in love to Lucy, yourself, and Olivia. . . . 

This house is far on towards being comfortable now, and will I 
think be very much so when thoroughly settled. I dare say Uncle 
Henry will soon be here on a visit, as both my Aunts have invited 
him. 

To William Rossetti, Newlyn. 

[It will be understood that "Sister EHza" was one of the inmates 
of All Saints Home : no reference is here made to Eliza Polidori. 
This Sister Eliza, whom I saw a few times, appeared to me a most 
excellent woman, a genuine Christian of the cheerful-minded (not 
naturally ascetic) class. She was not a person of high education, 



62 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

but must have made a mark in her vocation, for in 1907 I saw a 
little newspaper-paragraph devoted to her, announcing her death. — 
On receiving this letter at Newlyn, I with my wife and baby resolved 
to return to London.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

12 October 1876. 

My dear William, 

. . . Poor dear Maria must be tapped once more, so rapidly 
does the fluid collect ; and any day for 3 days to come may be the 
one for the operation. She is heavenly-minded, brave and calm ; 
indeed the grief is ours, and the dread ours, much rather than hers. 
The greatest care has to be observed so as not to over-fatigue her 
now, and her frequent fits of exhaustion make it difificult to be 
careful enough : even Mamma has once or twice had to curtail her 
visit. Of course we were with her this afternoon, and we trust to go 
to-morrow as usual : should the operation intervene and make any 
difference as to our going, Sister Eliza will write. She (Sister Eliza) 
is so sympathetic and loving as actually to soothe our dear Mother 
in her great grief. You must already be prepared without my telling 
you for anything I may have to write : though please God to avert 
it, — nor do I know but that my apprehensions may be magnifying 
the immediate risk. . . . 

Our move has proved less horrible than I prefigured, and I believe 
Mamma echoes the sentiment. Now we are far on towards shaking 
down into our fresh groove, and it promises to prove a suitable and 
comfortable one. . . . 



To William Rossetti, Newly 71. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[14 October 1S76.] 

My dear William, 

I make haste to assure you that dear Maria went happily 
through the second operation this morning, and has experienced 
great consequent relief. To-day she must be kept extremely quiet : 



1876— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 63 

to-morrow our Mother and I hope to see her in the afternoon. Our 
first report about her actually came to us from our invariably kind 
friend Mr. Brown, who had made enquiries with his wife at the 
Home to-day, and who wrote immediately to comfort Mamma. We 
are warmed up with affectionate gratitude to him. 

We had an enjoyable visit from Gabriel last night, who has now 
seen more of this house and likes it. He was tenderly concerned 
for poor Maria, and I have just written to him the good news. Of 
course however we must expect recurrent exhaustion and anxiety 
later on, but the present affords ample scope for thankfulness. He 
himself appeared very fairly well, and still enjoys improved rest at 
nights. 

The other day amongst old music Mamma found a set of airs, 
accompaniments to our father's improvisations, — and she has trans- 
ferred them to Euston Sq. thinking you may value them. All always 
with her dear love to you. Our loves also to Lucy and funny little 
Baby. 

I wonder whether you in Cornwall have less rain than we have in 
London : ive have had a good deal, yet this afternoon shows bright- 
ness. So let me wish you brightness within, radiating into a 
correspondent outward brightness, come shine, come storm. 



To William Rossetti, London. 

[" Mr. Cayley's Homer " is a translation of The Iliad in quantitative 
hexameters : whether an arduous and scholarly enterprise I need not 
say — nor yet whether a rather exhausting one for a mere English 
reader to tackle.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[27 October 1876.] 

My dear William, 

I am glad to be able to tell you that the little improvement 
in our dear Maria has continued to-day, at least till we saw her this 
afternoon. . . . She sends you and yours her love ; and informs you 
that, if you would like any day to see her about 11 o'clock (the 



64 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

afternoons are reserved for our Mother), your way would be to 
write to 

The Revd. Mother 

All Saints Home 
82_^argaret St. 
W. 
. . . That Maria enjoys seeing you is quite certain, and the only 
uncertainty is whether at a given moment she could indulge herself 
so far. . . . 

The Gladstone has accepted the dedication of Mr. Cayley's 
Homer : I hope this will help to launch the grand work, which yet 
needs no such help. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[24 November 1876.] 

My DEAR Gabriel, 

You see my black edge. This afternoon (at between half 
past I and a quarter to 2, about) our dear Maria died peacefully. 
Part of the morning she suffered a good deal of distress, and 
her mind seemed to wander : but before quite the end she was 
quiet, with no more sign of suffering than must go with such a 
transition. I think even in her confusion of thought that I once 
perceived her mind to be fixed on you and William. 

Our dearest Mother is bearing her sorrow with that peace which 
the world neither gives nor takes away. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORKINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

21 December [1876]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

Mamma is like yourself strongly against externs, and I 
feel sure Lucy will not fail to restrict herself to family. 6 o'clock is 
admirable for all, and I trust we shall thus all meet in Euston Sq. I 
will write now and accept definitively her outstanding invitation, for 



1 877— FROM CAYLEY 65 

we lagged in hopes of ascertaining your plans before clenching 
ours. 

Dearest Mamma's love to you. In one way Christmas, drawing 
us all together, seems yet to draw us nearest of all to dear Maria 
keeping her unexampled Christmas. 

To Dante Rossetti. 
[I am unable to say which of Christina's poems is here referred to.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

1 January [1877], 

My DEAR Gabriel, 

Our dearest Mother votes for 11.30, and I echo. 

You shall see one or two pieces more ; but the one I sent you is 
a favourite of my own, and I doubt if you will unearth one to eclipse 
it : moreover, if I remember the mood in which I wrote it, it is 
something of a genuine " lyric cry," and such I will back against all 
skilled labour. I will either hand you my infinitesimal budget of 
pieces to-morrow, or I will send it you afterwards : but please respect 
my thin skiji and do not start the subject in public. . . . 

Dear Mamma's love to you. 

From Charles Cavley. 

[This extract comes out of a half-letter without a beginning. 
I preserve it here because it shows the origin of Christina's little 
poem, My Mouse — i. e. a Sea-mouse. I do not remember the phrase 
" demons in shrouds " as occurring in any writing by my sister ; nor 
do I know what its application may have been — probably to the 
appearance of some animal of a low grade in zoology. A cuttle-fish 
in its first preparatory form might perhaps suggest the notion of a 
demon in shroud.] 

2 January 1877. 

. . . There is another thing I am more diffident about presenting : 
it is called in Sussex a seamouse, but by naturalists more politely 
Aphrodita aculeata, or needly Venus ; and might be received by you 
5 



66 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

as a compatriot of your "demons in shrouds"; it has bright many- 
coloured scales. On the other hand, I did not see my way to dry 
it ; so I put it in spirits of wine — not without fears for my carpet- 
bag's contents ; this may seem a drawback. With best wishes for 
the new year. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[This letter relates chiefly to the details of my sister's poem, 
Mirrors of Life and Death, published in The Athencetim of 1 7 
March 1877. The "La Valliere date" was apparently required in 
connexion with another poem, Sister Louise de la Misericorde.'] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C, 

[? 12 March 1877.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

Please remark that I have adopted your omission of " sun 
of" and your re-arrangement : and wink at my mouse and mole from 
whom I cannot wean myself. I have, however, woven in a few fresh 
" mirrors," and some of these tone down (I hope) any abruptness of 
the m. and fu. Now my little piece satisfies myself, and I shall be 
very glad if it goes under your auspices to the Athenceum, though I 
would have spared you further trouble by acting for myself now that 
I am old enough and tough enough. The alternative of a declinal I 
must brave ; at the worst it will not be my first experience in the 
same line. As to my mole and his fur, perhaps you have not noticed 
the fact of his skin having no right-and-wrong way of the grain (as, 
for instance, a cat's has) : it grows like the biasless nap of velvet, and 
as a naturalistic fact this is explained as adapting him to his career of 
grubbing to and fro. I hope this specialty is well enough known for 
my couplet to convey its drift ; at any rate I will run the risk and 
enlarge the public mind. — My "la Valliere" date was more tire- 
some to you than I meant it to be ; to myself the omission matters 
nothing at all, as the verses are of no present use and I can look up 
my point any day at the Museum : — pardon ! 

We shall be very glad to see you when you indulge us, our Mother 
even more than I. Her dear love to you, mediante. 



i877— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 67 

A photograph of the family baby being sent to Florence; Teodorico 
pronounces her a Polidori and like Mamma : I do not see it myself. 

I overlooked " Benignantly hot." — Do you know, I like it, — and 
do not want to be exclusively " dreamily sweet," — nor fancy that all 
the rest is so. 



To William Rossetti. 

[Dante Rossetti was at this time wretchedly ill, having lately 
required some surgical attendance from Mr. John Marshall : it was 
not an illness directly dependent upon abuse of chloral, though this 
latter may have tended to aggravate and prolong it. — " Mr. Watts " 
is (I need scarcely say) Rossetti's constant and devoted friend in 
these years — Walter Theodore Watts, whom we now know as 
Theodore Watts-Dunton, author of the romance of Ayhcitn, &c.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[6 August 1877.] 

My dear William, 

We think you may like to have news of Gabriel directly on 
your arrival at home (after, I hope, a safe and comfortable journey), 
so I write to let you find a letter. 

We saw him yesterday. I cannot say he is evidently better, though 
Mr. Marshall who saw him on Friday still considers all perfectly 
remediable, if poor G. can be induced to do what depends upon 
himself. As an absolutely essential step he orders him out of town 
so soon as it is possible to find a house for him, — he must be forced 
off if he cannot at the critical moment muster the resolution needed, 
and Mr. Watts says he was similarly forced off to Broadlands last 
year. Mamma and I have the comfort of finding that he likes to 
have us with him out of town ; so once more all our plans are altered, 
and we are now ready at any moment to precede, accompany, or 
follow him as the case may be. Mr. Watts is undertaking the 
arduous work of house-hunting, and is laying himself out in active 
friendship. Mr. Dunn is also very kind. 

These are the main facts. Poor Gabriel is so dreadfully depressed 
as apparently to give himself no chance of rallying : but one must 
hope and pray. . . . 



68 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

To William Rossetti. 

[The " adequate observance of rule " related to chloral, with its 
accompanying whisky. " Albert" was the man-servant — more, 
perhaps, in the nature of a male nurse — whom my brother at present 
employed.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[15 August 1877.] 

Mv DEAR William, 

You may like to know about our visit to Chelsea yesterday, 
before paying yours to-day. Poor Gabriel was greatly depressed, 
but in some points better : he walked and sat a little in the garden, 
and played a game of chess with me. Warmly and gratefully did 
he speak of Mr. Brown, who had sat up reading to him, and very 
affectionately he made mention of the comfort of seeing you. The 
special incident however to tell you is that whilst we were there Mr. 
Marshall called and stayed a long time with him. We of course left 
him alone with his patient: but after awhile he joined us in the 
drawing-room and held an anxious conversation with Mamma, plainly 
telling us that, though one month of adequate observance of rule 
would make all the difference in Gabriel's favour, he could not sur- 
vive many months on the present system. Well: he had spoken I 
suppose very plainly also to Gabriel, who had owned to him a very 
serious breach of rule ; and Gabriel has now consented to be put in 
charge of a regular nurse, who will enforce that moderation which his 
very life now requires. Mr. Marshall knew of a most eligible nurse 
just set free from another case; and -he has furnished G. with a 
written table of diet &c., admitting of no misunderstanding. The 
nurse would be in charge all day, Albert at night : of course she (as 
well, I do hope, as he) will be of the out-of-town party ; and for aught 
I know she is now already on the spot. . . . 

We left Mr. Watts with him, and dinner on the table. I think 
Mr. Dunn also seems solidly kind, as I hear of his playing chess 
with poor G., and I perceived he was going to be of the dinner- 
party. If Mr. Brown is once more inclined to show himself the good 
active friend he has ever been, his company will be a helpful solace 
both Mamma and I feel. 
Her love to you. 



i877— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 69 

To William Rossetti. 

[As this letter shows, our mother and Christina joined Dante 
Gabriel in his retreat near Heme Bay — a comfortable farm-residence. 
They replaced Madox Brown, who had in the first instance escorted 
the invalid out of town. — " Mr. Shields " is the distinguished painter 
Frederic J. Shields, an old friend of my brother, and held in high 
esteem by all of us. — "The F, M. B. gold-watch incident" was 
this. Mrs. Madox Brown, pacing along the parade or beach at 
Gorleston, noticed a watch lying derelict on the ground. She 
picked it up, and found the inscribed initials to be F. M. B., which 
were her husband's initials. The right owner was soon afterwards 
found.] 

AT MR. SANDS'S, HUNTER's FORESTALL, NEAR HERNE BAY. 

30 August 1877. 

My dear William, 

Your letter incites me to take turns in the bulletins, but 
without wanting you to " respond " except to our Mother, who needs 
every cheerful influence within reach, not least your loving letters. 
Yet she keeps very bright and well, all considered, and is the down- 
pillow of the group. 

Poor dear Gabriel had a somewhat less uneasy night last night ; 
but it seems only shades of difference which are in question, nothing 
near the contrast between good and bad. His depression is very 
painful, though sometimes a shadow of the old fun breaks out and lights 
all up for the moment. Yet some positive advance seems to have 
been made if we look back a few weeks. The rooms are no longer 
kept in semi-darkness, he does not now sit in that attitude of dreadful 
dejection with drooping head, he perspires less, and, if I am not 
mistaken, the pains in his limbs have lessened. He looks stout, his 
complexion is florid ; only his eyes have a peculiar appearance which 
cannot, I fear, be favourable. Sometimes he is unable to listen to 
reading, but very often he listens for a good while with interest. 
Generally a little whist helps on the evening fairly. He has not even 
yet attempted to take Mamma's portrait, and his hand is often visibly 
tremulous. Just now he has a degree of eruption out, but I hope 
it is no more than the effect of heat from some cause or other. The 



70 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

weather from dull has changed to sunny. Gabriel is now going to 
try a French remedy for insomnolence ; Mr. Shields learnt it from 
Mr. Andrieu and derived relief from it ; it is happily one which 
Mrs. Mitchell feels no difficulty in sanctioning, — butter-milk, to be 
drunk in the night. It will not supersede the steadily diminishing 
(but still enormous) dose of chloral, but may be taken in addition. 
I am not sanguine, but a blessing may be vouchsafed on any 
means whatsoever. It is to be tried for the first time to-night. 

Mr. Shields is here, most unselfish and friendly. I have no idea 
how much longer he will be able to stay ; but I fear the sacrifice he 
makes is not trifling, as he does not attempt to carry on any sort of 
work, indeed he brought none with him. He did bring a copy he 
made from Fra Bartolomeo's portrait of Savonarola, and Gabriel and 
I both recognize in it a strong likeness to Maria ; this Mamma also 
observes, but I suspect less forcibly. We take daily drives. 

Mamma's love to you. Curious truly is the " F. M. B." gold- 
watch incident. . . . Please let Mr. Brown know what I tell you 
about Gabriel, or I ought to write to that staunchest of friends ; but 
thus one letter may serve. Pray remember us most cordially to him ; 
and assure him I am selfishly ready to wish him back here a dozen 
times a day, to hand him over the housekeeping and be encouraged 
by his influence over Gabriel. 

To William Rossetti. 

[This extract comes from a letter not in complete condition. 
Christina's " short piece," A7i October Garden, appeared in The 
Aihenceufu.^ 

hunter's forestall, herne bay. 

II October 1877. 

My dear William, 

. . . We are very anxious indeed about poor Gabriel. All 
Mrs. Mitchell tells us amounts to the fact that chloral has now been 
reduced to doses wholly or quasi inoperative, while not a vestige of 
natural sleeping-power has been regained. Last night he did indeed 
sleep somewhat more again : but how ? His nurse was driven to 
concede the point, and return to one larger allowance of chloral. 
Another great fear which besets us is that Gabriel will shortly take 



i877— TO SHIELDS 71 

matters into his own hands, and order chloral direct for himself 
from the chemist, emancipating himself from Mr. Marshall's 
most salutary rule, and of course in consequence from Mrs. 
Mitchell's supervision. He has, I am told, spoken in this way ; 
though not to Mamma or me. All I thus repeat to you is in 
strict confidence, but you ought to be informed of what is and of 
what threatens. He has spoken of not continuing here beyond 
about the end of this month, but has not so said it that I feel any 
certainty as to our breaking up at any given moment ; if he ceases 
to conform to rule, I know not what to look forward to, whether we 
stay or whether we leave. God help us. In general health he 
is wonderfully recovered, but this sleeplessness saps hope and 
spirits. . . . 

Before long perhaps you may see a short piece of mine in the 
AthencRUJ7i, as I happened to write one down here, and obliging Mr. 
Watts has just sent it in on approval. I desire acceptance, as you 
may surmise, — and cash ! 

To Frederic J. Shields. 

[This note may perhaps belong to some such date as December 
1877, when Mr. Shields was working upon some designs of the 
Prophets for the Duke of Westminster's Chapel at Eaton Hall, 
Cheshire. The extract which my sister sent to him is not 
forthcoming.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C, 

{^December 1877?] 

Dear Mr. Shields, 

Our conversation of last evening gave me some subsequent 
thought and a wish to feel surer of my ground within such sacred 
precincts. So I turned to 2 commentaries we have at hand, and, 
though my search failed in great measure, I did light upon one 
passage in Scott's well-known work which I venture to extract and 
lay before you, — not as pretending to clash with your view, but 
simply as explaining why it seems to me that the promised " desert 
of roses " blossomed not at the voice of St. John Baptist. I think 
so, of course, on other and wider grounds, and according to Mr. 
Scott the " soldiers " form no exception to the rule. 



72 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

It is balm to my Mother and to me to hear a man of genius who 
is also a Christian, who speaks of the personages and facts of the 
Bible as of personages and facts, and who brings love and devo- 
tion to his work for the glory of God. Pray do not think me over- 
bold in expressing myself, but you well know how many men of 
genius think and speak otherwise. Please remember my Mother 
and me very cordially to Mrs. Shields, and with our real regards to 
yourself, &c. . . . 

From THE Rev. Dr. Littledale, 

9 RED LION SQUARE, LONDON. 

7 February 1878. 

'Tis but too true, dear Miss Christina, 

What publishers to you reply, 
A time like this has always been a 

Time when the frighted Muses fly ; 
Inter artna sile?it leges 

('Twas Marcus Cicero who said it), 
And all but newspapers are tedious 

When Dizzy wants his vote of credit. 
The public likes a Prince's Progress, 

But only in the Morning Post, 
And makes a Goblin Market ogress 

Of Russia's or of Turkey's host. 
The tale of this or that atrocity, 

Hummed the stretching wires along, 
With all the telegraph's velocity. 

Pitches the key of its Sing-song. 
'Twon't last for ever, never fret 'ee 

But wait till war's alarums fail : 
Such is the rede, dear Miss Rossetti, 

Of your true friend 

R. Littledale. 

To William Rossetti. 

[Our old friend Frederic G. Stephens, of the P.R.B., was at this 
time very dangerously ill : Mr. John Marshall, at a grave crisis, saved 



1878— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 73 

his life. Mr. Holman Hunt was also ill, and Ruskin in a painful 
mental condition. — My " Poets " is the volume Lives of Famous Foe is : 
my Shelley was the re-edition of the poems, as first edited by me in 
1870. — Mr. W. A. Turner, of Manchester, was one of the later 
purchasers of my brother's pictures : he bought, among others, the 
Vision of Fiajnmetta^ 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARfe, W.C. 

15 March 1S78. 

My dear William, 

The poor dear Stephenses, — what dreadful suffering and 
anxiety. Gabriel was here last night, and, hearing from us about his 
old friend, was full of concern and sympathy. I shall send him on 
your letter of this morning that he may know all we know. I shall also 
write to Mrs. Stephens to tell her Mamma and I are feeling with her, — 
not, of course, to trouble her for any reply. To me blood-poison is 
amongst the most appalling of diseases. Even poor Holman Hunt's 
state frightens me less, critical and painful as it is. By the by, 
Gabriel also spoke with friendly concern about Ruskin. And he 
looked at your " Poets " with interest, and mentioned having received 
your Shelley (though that is but a graceless form of acknowledgment). 
I fear he was not in genuine good spirits, but at any rate he had a 
vestige of fun in him, witness the following couplet on me : — 

"There's a female bard grim as a fakeer, 
Who daily grows shakier and shakier" — 

the point was to find a rhyme for " shakier." Scotus and Mrs. Scott 
had been to see him, and I think he was expecting that Mr. Turner 
of Manchester to-day. He is getting on again with his Fia77imetta 
picture. 

Our mother's love to you, and hers and mine to yours. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[Mr. James Smetham the painter was at this time at some loss for 
finding purchasers for his pictures, and Dante Rossetti was pushing 
their sale to the best of his opportunities. Christina had only a very 
slight acquaintance with Mr. Smetham, but she esteemed him on 
religious as well as artistic grounds. Miss Heaton (who has been 
mentioned before) was a lady resident at Leeds.] 



74 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[?^/r^7i878.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

I should be charmed to help Mr. Smetham, towards whom 
I am drawn by esteem and sympathy, but I have so dropped out of 
society (never having acquired deep foothold therein) that I fear I 
am also pretty well out of court as regards useful influence. Miss 
Heaton is the one name that suggests itself to both of us. . . . What 
I think would be the best chance of attracting her would be to 
promise that, if she inclines their way, she should, when she comes to 
London (supposing any to remain on hand so long), visit your studio 
with me and there inspect them ; but perhaps friendship will not 
carry you so far. . . . 

Are they in oil or in water-colour ? 



To Lucy Rossetti. 

[I think this undated letter may belong to June 1878. The 
occasion for its being written appears to be that my daughter Olivia, 
aged at that time less than three years, had been reported by her 
nurse as making herself rather more than sufficiently " at home " at 
the residence of my sister and mother. — The phrase " crocodile love " 
is perhaps used in allusion to the fact that Olivia, who happened 
to see at a friend's house Mr. Boyle, then Editor of The Daily 
Chrofiick, had spoken to him of that paper as " the Daily Crocodile."] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[IJttne 1878.] 
My dear Lucy, 

I am heartily glad you have written, because it gives me a 
chance of doing away with an impression I never meant to create. 
I quite admire our clever little Olive, and am really glad she should 
be imbued with Sing- Songs ; and the more at her ease she is 
among us, some of her nearest relations, the better; and, if some day 
she comes to love me as well as to be familiar with me, that will be 
better still, — only I do not count on such a happy consummation. 



1878— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 75 

as I know myself to be deficient in the nice motherly ways which win 
and ought to win a child's heart. You do not know how much 
pleasure, moreover, you will retrench from Mamma's quiet days if 
you check Olive's coming here or her perfect freedom when she is 
here. That is a truly motherly heart, full of warm nooks for children 
and children's children : and she could not bear her gratification in 
seeing and hearing your little ones to be doubted or misunderstood. 
This with her love to you and to them. And mine too, please, to 
all three : not a crocodile love ! 

" Kiss and be friends " is a very sound old exhortation : get Olive 
to be my proxy, and I shall not fear to miss the result. Need I ? 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[" L. G." was Luigi Gamberale, of Campobasso, who produced 
some Italian translations from poems by Dante Gabriel and Christina. 
— Maria's " masterpiece " was the volume named. ^ Shadow of Da7ite. 
— The Tauchnitz book was a reprint of Dante Rossetti's Poems 
of 1870.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

\_Augiist 1S78.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

The Gazetteer informs us that Campobasso is the capital of 
the Neapolitan province of Molise, is situated about 55 miles from 
Naples, and stands on the ascent of a high mountain, — I therefore 
doubt not that Campobasso, Naples, will be an adequate address. 
If you write to L. G., please add my gratified thanks. I agree with 
you in not being admiration-struck by his translation, and also in 
being much pleased at his note on dear Maria, and in wishing that 
her masterpiece could be brought within reach of Italian readers. 
Were I a rich woman, I really think I should be tempted to give 
Teodorico the commission, and have it translated and published on 
my own responsibility : but such luxuries are not for me. 

We all send you our loves, dear Mamma vagheggiando her 
prospective Tauchnitz, Still we have not fixed where to go, but 
Walton-on-Naze seems not impossible; we have written to some 
lodgings there. 



76 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To William Rossetti. 

[The reference to a " head and hand," followed by Maria's quaint 
idea about the mummy-room, has to do with a mummified relic 
presented to me by Mr. Peter Lascaridi, who had recently returned 
from a visit to Egypt. I did not quite know how best to dispose of 
this abnormal fgift, and had offered it to Christina. Ultimately it 
was accepted with pleasure by our medical adviser and friend Mr. 
William Gill.] 

21 August 187S. 
My dear William, 

Had I an oratory, I might willingly accept the loan of 
" head and hand " as a memento mori ; but, as it is, I could not feel 
easy at keeping bits of fellow-human-creature as curiosities; my 
preference would be to give them reverent burial. Long ago Maria 
suggested how awful it would be to be in the Museum Mummy- 
Room on the day of the resurrection. Don't you think some of the 
most competent shops for supplying your glass case would be found 
in Great Russell St. ? I seem to remember none more promising. 



From Charles Cayley. 

[The " proofs of Petrarch " were proofs of Cayley's translations 
from Petrarch, He was at this time writing a completion of a book 
on the subject of religious and political persecutions, by a Spanish 
republican named Garrido. — The female members of Cayley's family 
lived ordinarily at St. Leonard's, Hastings.] 



4 SOUTH CRESCENT. 

4 September 1S78. 

Dear Christina Rossetti, 

If you are still to be some time out of town, I want to ask 
you, in charity, to send me a few lines about your Naze-al retreat, 
and how it suits you, and if anything has occurred among our friends. 
Here I am not only isolated as in the height of the 7iomadk season, 
but have been kept ten days at home by a bad foot, and am just 



x878— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 77 

beginning to creep out ; my doctor has been my fellow Ipdger, and 
my landlady, I must own, an excellent nurse in all points. What it 
came of, at least the crisis, was a walk last Thursday week in Windsor 
park ; which should have been of 7 miles, but I made it more, being 
insufficiently directed. I was glad to see the old castle, though it 
is like a set of ugly things that a wave tosses up tnagnificentiy. I 
left the state-rooms for another occasion, though I have never seen 
them, and went to the Long Walk — a three-mile line of elms — do 
you know it? — that will have completed two centuries in 1880, 
and there are few signs of destruction and decay; it was a grand 
idea to plant them. After a mile or so the park widens out, then 
herds of deer appear, then fernbeds, undulating ground, and all 
varieties of trees. What I had least expected was the very broad 
and bright patches of heather near Virginia Water, for there was no 
admixture of furze whatever. And here, as in the colour of the margin 
of a rainbow, I will relieve you from this dreary letter, except that I 
will add I have had some proofs of Petrarch (80 pages) and written 
my chapters on Naples for " Persecutions " — a quarter, I hope, of 
what I had to do. My sisters have been in Coventry, Shropshire, 
and Wales, visiting. I await soon a letter from St. Leonard's. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

17 [September 1878]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

... I was charmed at the good success of my Sing-Songs 
with you. But it would indeed need a better Italian than I to 
translate the whole series : think of me writhing helpless before 

" Heartsease in my garden-bed " or " In the meadow " ! ! The 

Fig, I avow, causes me inward triumph. " Rotolandosi spumando 
vanno " gave, I thought, something of the accumulative on-come 
of the waves, mounting on each other's backs : otherwise / am not 
aware of any reason against " spumanti " as you suggest ; or one 
might obliterate the sound yet more by making it " spumosi ". . . 



78 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[Jamiaiy 1879.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

Teodorico has sent over a few Stng-Songs and wants 
them shown to you : so here they are. Of course his affectionate 
remembrances to you accompanied them. Some are what I have 
done, and some not : some (truth to tell) I like better of mine, but 
his No. 5 beats me hollow. 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, he only has 
tackled : 12 is charming. Of course I only venture to prefer my 
own in case their Italian could pass muster, — and very likely it could 
not, which would make all the difference. . . . 

From Dante Rossetti. 

[The pen-and-ink design which was enclosed in this letter was an 
illustration of Christina's lines " Passing away, saith the World, 
Passing away." There is a date in the corner, 1865, and some 
initials, which I regard as J. Y. : yet I believe that the name of the 
designer was known to be Rivington, a clergyman. The praise 
which my brother bestowed upon the design, though it is not the 
work of an accomplished artist, was fully merited. — The P;S. must 
relate to Mrs. Henrietta Polydore (our uncle's wife), who was usually 
settled in the United States of America, but was once or twice over 
in England.] 

[16 CHEVNE WALK. 

22 May 1879.] 

Mv dear Christina, 

I am enclosing a production which I think I once men- 
tioned to you and you did not seem to remember ; but I fancy you 
did see it when sent to me by some one long ago as the work of a 
young amateur or artist whose name I know not. It is certainly 
poetic and assuredly quite quaint enough. Now you have it, keep 
it if you care. I turned it up yesterday, and bethought me to send 
it ere it got buried again in heaps. 

I hope our Mother thrives in this bettering weather. I hope to be 
seeing you soon, but am beset with building-nuisances here. 



i879— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 79 

Is Aunt C. with you now? If so, love to both Aunts ?nd first of 
all to our Mother. 

How about Mrs. H. P. ? 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[" Our man " presents to me no identity : he would appear to have 
been the author of some verses, desirous of obtaining Christina's 
address. — The Prince's Quest is of course a poem by William 
Watson.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

{Stiimiicr 1879 ""l 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

Our man (whom I characterize less briefly than do you) 
wants my address : so I send him simply my visiting-card, and he 
may do anything or nothing as he prefers. I augur drearily from his 
poem, and not brightly from his letter. 

I have read The Prince's Quest, and indeed the whole volume. 
Marked beauties it has, and yet I don't foresee a great future for its 
author, — not confidently. May he falsify my verdict ! . . . 



To William Rossetti, Broadstairs. 
[The book here spoken of is the one entitled Seek atid Find.'\ 

2 GLADSTONE VILLAS, SEAFORD. 

21 July 1879. 

Mv DEAR William, 

You will like to know that our dear Mother is settled here 
very comfortably and prosperously, in air that seems to suit her and 
in very clean wholesome lodgings. Seaford is very quiet, but so are 
we. It is a rather desolate-looking small place; though it may, I 
surmise, look somewhat less desolate when more people arrive, a 
phenomenon talked of for a little further on in the season, — say 
August I. We like it better than being at Walton last year, partly 
because we like these lodgings so much better than those. . . . 

At last I can indulge you with a gleam of light on some of those 
mysterious literary avocations at which you have occasionally caught 



8o CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

me, — for I have just sold a little book (its copyright) for ;^4o to the 
S.P.C.K., which is the same Society as published Maria's Letters 
to my Bible Class in old days. Mine is a small work on the 
" Benedicite," and I promise myself the pleasure of ere long adding 
a copy to your family-shelf, if you will accept one. . . . 

I hope your bottled monsters are not less long-lived or more 
smelly than in the days of our common experiences. I do not 
discern any symptoms of "monsters" here, but my investigations 
are carried on from a campstool pitched some way from the water's 
edge, — so are by no means exhaustive. Shingle I see : and I think 
I have heard of sand, under some condition of the tide which I have 
7Wt seen, . . . 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[" Mr. Caine's lecture " was a lecture by Mr. Hall Caine, then in 
Liverpool and engaged only subordinately in literature, regarding 
Rossetti's poems. His sending a copy of the lecture to my brother 
was the beginning of their acquaintance. — "The second me" 
must be one of the heads of Christina which Dante Gabriel had 
drawn — perhaps the downward-looking one done in 1877. The 
"first me" would be the well-known and often reproduced head 
dated in 1866.] 

2 GLADSTONE VILLAS, SEAFORD. 

[1 879-? 25 /«/)/.] 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

Sad to say, my little book Seek and Find is exclusive 
prose : yet I flatter myself some of it is that prose which I fancy our 
Italian half inclines us to indite. It is, of course, but a simple work 
adapted to people who know less (!) than I do : but I took a keen 
interest in writing it, and I hope some may feel an interest in reading 
it. One solitary footnote occurs in its course, and the unnamed 
personage of that footnote is our dear good Maria. All the proofs 
and even the revises have now passed through my hands, so before 
so very long I hope a clean copy will come to light. 

Thankyou for letting me too read Mr. Caine's Lecture, — a re- 
markable work by an author who really thinks, feels ; and therefore 
has somewhat to express. If you come to know him I should like 



iS79— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 8i 

to know what he is like : conflicting images of him evolve themselves 
from my inner consciousness, and he cannot be like both ! 

This place is suiting us capitally. There is at least one country- 
ish walk, simple and pretty, within our range, besides the inexhaust- 
ible beach. 

Thankyou much for caring to think of having the second "me" 
photographed. Should a spare carte from either negative ever 
accumulate in your hands, I shall thankfully accept it, and probably 
transfer it to an American Miss Alger who asked me in vain for one 
lately. 

On a second reading of the Lecture Mamma is so charmed that 
she means to buy the N<?. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[The phrase, "Mr. Brown has come forward" &c., refers to 
the fact that Brown, after Dante Rossetti returned to London from 
Hunter's Forestall late in 1877, held aloof from him for a while, 
owing to some tiff (entirely on Brown's side) concerning Rossetti's 
servants. The tiff had now at last subsided, and Brown had re- 
appeared.— "The extreme tenuity of ;,{;2 70 "relates to the sum payable 
for his paintings in the Manchester Townhall.—Mrs. Laura Valentine 
compiled a volume entitled Gems of National Poetry, in which she 
was pleased to insert a very early verse-performance of mine called 
l7i the Jlill-shadow.—The sum of ^10 was offered and paid by Mr. 
Fairfax Murray for the MS. of Christina's Seek and Fttid. The 
other MS. here mentioned, Singsdng, with some vignettes from the 
authoress's hand, remained perdu for years. At last, towards 1900, 
It came back to me, and rests in my custody. The vignettes are 
mteresting to people who care about Christina and her work, but of 
course are highly primitive from an art point of view. — "The 
predellas " belonged to the second and somewhat diminished version 
of Rossetti's oil-picture, Dante's Dream : Mr. William Graham was 
the purchaser.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[1879—? 18 Augtcst.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

Your charming letter to our Mother followed us up from 
Seaford this morning, and she delights in it (her own word) and 
sends you her love. We are so glad that Mr. Brown has come 



82 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

forward and met your latent affection, while we agree with you 
(keeping the matter to ourselves) in the extreme tenuity of ^2'jo. 
I hope that the name and fame accruing may serve as ballast to the 
light purse. 

" Laura Valentine " I identify no further than as working at one 
vol. of Warnes's " Chandos " series. From William she culls Ifi 
the Hill-shadow and 2 sonnets, but which 2 I know not. From 
me, Twilight Calm and Sound Sleep. William foresaw some- 
what ruefully figuring in company with really good work of yours 
and mine : but half this combination he will be spared — and he 
seems to excel me in freedom from vanity ! . . . 

And now for your letter to me. I am amazed, amused, and as you 
may believe not a little pleased, at the j[^\o bid for my M.S., and 
am lying in wait for the formal communication from William. Alas ! 
no more such refuse do I retain in stock — for till Mr. Watts en- 
lightened me I laboured under the delusion that printer's copy was 
a perquisite of one's publisher; and now, too late, I deplore the 
original Sing-Song — embellished with my own vignettes ! ! ! It is 
delightful to hear of Mr. Murray's success in life, and to recollect 
that you were his early friend and helper. 

I hope the predellas are turning out as beautiful as they promised 
to become. 

Looking forward to our seeing you ere long, &c. . . . 

To William Rossetti. 

[This note was written soon after our brother had done something 
unreasonable with chloral-dosing or what not, and had reduced him- 
self to a very shattered condition. It lasted some few days, but did 
not seriously affect him in the long run.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

21 [October 1879]. 
My dear William, 

We spent a long morning with Gabriel yesterday, and 
found him less depressed than I was prepared for. But what a 
state his mouth is in, and his voice was wretched. However, he 
was very fairly chatty as to books and people, and showed us some 
of his beautiful drawings. I wish you could have heard the tender 



iSyg— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 83 

and grateful warmth with which he mentioned your kindness in ill- 
ness, — " like a woman," and the sweetness of your disposition. 

We are going again to-day, but not for quite so long a period, as 
the whole affair yesterday proved almost too fatiguing for our 
Mother, Her dear love to you, and ours if you please to Lucy, whose 
and whose Father's helpful kindness we thankfully acknowledge. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[In consequence of some talks between Dante Rossetti and 
Mr. Watts-Dunton (who was solicitor as well as author), it was 
considered that the publishing arrangements between Christina and 
Messrs. Macmillan were not quite so clearly or accurately defined as 
they should have been. Hence this letter, and some ensuing collo- 
quies which proved satisfactory to both parties.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

17 December 1879. 

My dear Gabriel, 

I certainly have two very brotherly brothers who command 
my affectionate gratitude by their unfailing care for my small concerns. 

Mr. Watts moreover makes me his debtor by such friendly good 
will. If he and you and William all agree as to the necessity of the 
step, and if he will kindly take it without my involving myself in 
heavy law-expenses, I will accept your opinion that it is advisable, 
and be glad that he should speak to Mr. Macmillan. But only and 
absolutely in the most amicable manner ; as being quite certain that 
no wrong has either been done or dreamt of, as knowing that I am 
satisfied with actual arrangements, and as bearing in mind that I stick 
to my position of cordial personal friendship with my friendly publisher. 
All which premised, I should of course be glad to have business- 
matters put — if they are not so already — on a business-footing. 
Nothing however, not proof positive that I had been pillaged ! would 
make me have recourse to law : this is a statement at once preliminary 
and final. Moreover I am hugging hopes of getting together before 
long enough verse for a small fresh volume : so least of all at this 
moment am I in the mood to alienate the staunch Mac. . . . 

Seek and Find has been favourably mentioned in the Saturday 
Review. 



84 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[Christina presented to our mother for her eightieth birth- 
day, 27 April 1880, a copy of David Main's Treasury of English 
Sonnets, and Dante Gabriel inserted into it the illustrated MS. of his 
own sonnet on The Sonnet. From the following letter it is apparent 
that he had consulted Christina on the question whether the close of 
that sonnet, which refers to death, might be likely to produce any 
painful impression on our mother. I do not know what was the 
couplet proposed (but not finally adopted) as a substitute.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

2 April [1880]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

... I still think the first sonnet-conclusion quite 
admissible, — and (with you, so far as I realize the two) poetically 
superior, despite an " imperial " something in the second which has 
a stately and splendid sound. I hope I am not making any mistake 
in my judgment : but our dearest mother has much to brighten and 
endear to her the approaching immortality, even beyond those yet 
higher and more blessed aspects of it which we all have in common. 
Still, I most keenly appreciate the tenderness which makes you 
debate such a point at such a sacrifice. 



To Olivia Rossetti (Agresti). 

[In April 1880 Olivia was aged about four years and a half. She 
had asked to have a copy of the sonnet which Christina had written 
for her own mother's eightieth birthday : this is the reply, covering 
instead a copy of the verses named Golden Glories.'] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

27 April [i^2>6\. 
Mv DEAR Olive, 

I find dearest Grandmamma sets so high a value on her 
private and personal sonnet that I am not to make a copy of it even 
for you ! But I hope you will like quite as well the little piece I 
enclose, which has never been printed either : so for the present you 




Frances M. L. Rossetti. 
Frotn an Oil Portrait by Dante Rossetti, c. 1865. 



[ To /ace p. 84. 



i88o-TO DANTE ROSSETTI 85 

have it all to yourself. And, if at some future day a "golden glory " 
of art or of poetry should alight on your " head of golden tips," then 
(if you are at all like old auntie) you will find that almost if not quite 
its brightest point is that it kindles a light of pleasure in your own 
Mother's eyes. 

To whom please give my love, and to Arthur and Helen, and last 
but not least to dear Papa. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[The ballad here referred to is The White Ship. The incident of 
the boy in mourning-garb who announces to Henry I the death of 
his son and daughter was (I think) found by Dante Gabriel in 
Augustin Thierry's history. — The "sycomore" was used for the 
picture The Daydream^ now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[? May 1880.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

Mamma, with love, takes your loving advice and does not 
herself write, but is quite glad I should write and express for her her 
{pur) liking and admiration of your fine ballad. Twice she read and 
once she listened to it, and many times yet she may read it. She 
looked in Hume for the plain prose of the history, and found most of 
your facts, but especially not that of the mourning boy, — so pictur- 
esque and telling. Perhaps when you come you will tell her whence 
you gleaned so advantageous a point. I am so glad you have written 
this fine piece, one really worth writing ; and I hope it will delight 
others in print ere long, as us already in MS. 

We are pleased your sycomore is so available, and are not without 
hopes of beholding the beautiful result some day. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[Rossetti's sonnet on William Blake is here referred to. — Madame 
was an Anglo-Greek lady of whom he had narrated a painful 



experience ; and James Smetham was in a grievous condition of mind 
from which he never recovered.] 



86 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



III PEVENSEY ROAD, EASTBOURNE. 

id July i8So. 

My dear Gabriel, 

I think it is worth while to date this letter as illustrating 
that even in 1880 our dearest Mother was well able to leave home on 
a little holiday excursion, to stroll and sit out for about 3 hours daily, 
and to be amused on the Parade. The costumes that pass before us 
in a brisk panorama ! One very simply dressed lady whom I saw 
once showed a face that I fancy might have charmed even you by its 
natural rare beauty ; but I have scarcely noticed one other at all 
exceptional, if even one. The horrors of this place would certainly 
overwhelm you, — its idlers, brass bands, nigger minstrels of British 
breed, and other attractions ; but I, more frivolous, am in a degree 
amused. 

Mamma's love to you. She delights in the letter which you have 
affectionately filled with so many interesting facts, and which you 
have enriched with a sonnet so pathetic. She, like myself, had no 
idea that Blake's workroom remained recognizable, much less intact. 

" Poor Mme. " she says (figuratively), and "poor good Smetham." 

We are both very glad of the re-appearance of Burne Jones, and hope 
that kindly face and genius may contribute something worth adding 
to your social circle ; and it was pleasant to meet him for a moment 
at the R.A., and to be carried back to days 20 years old by this time ! 
What is Philip Jones to be? and is little Margaret growing up pretty? 
She quite took me by surprise once in her babyhood that I saw 
her. . . . 

Yesterday Mamma procured the Temple Bar and the mention of 
you gratifies her, — so you may feel certain what style of mention it 
is ! Not one phrase does it contain but of admiration ; the passage 
is short, but not unmeaning. . . . 

We had not heard of Mr. Tom Taylor's death : may his " charities " 
follow him. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[The Dixon here mentioned was Thomas Dixon of Sunderland, 
lately deceased, the cork-cutter to whom Ruskin had addressed his 
letters entitled Time and Tide. He was an estimable man, singularly 



■)*%, 



i88o— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 87 

zealous in promoting the cause of literature and art in his own circle. 
Joseph Skipsey, the coal-miner poet, was a friend of Dixon. — The 
"«£?«^/pun" has been retailed by me elsewhere, and I need not 
here recur to it. — I think that Mrs. Meynell, when she wrote the 
article in The Pen, was not personally acquainted with any Rossetti, 
and that she did not afterwards become so. — The reference to 
Chatterton is consequent upon a sonnet written by Dante Rossetti.] 

Ill PEVENSEY ROAD, EASTBOURNE. 

20 July 1 8S0. 

My dear Gabriel, 

Thanks for your letter in proportion to its welcomeness — 
what a word ! 

Poor Dixon : I feel truly concerned, though I earnestly hope he is 
the gainer. To him, so far as I know, may fairly attach the character 
(a noble one) of a good citizen. I dare say many will miss him, and 
I hope not a few will remember him. May I deserve remembrance 
when my day comes, and then remembered or forgotten it will be 
well with me. I don't know that I saw him more than once, but one 
way and another I seem to know a tolerable deal about him. I 
recollect you have mentioned Joseph Skipsey to us ere now, and 
surely you showed us his photograph once at your house, — manly- 
looking, as a "collier" well may be. 

Mamma hopes to write you "di proprio pugno," so I only speak 
for myself. How I wish we knew who did write the Pert article. 
Don't think me such a goose as to feel keenly mortified at being put 
below you, the head of our house in so many ways. I much like the 
mention of our dear Father, and I like also as far as it goes the 
tribute to Maria : William too fares fairly. In your " non fit " pun I 
revel. Who can it be who knows so much about our family, and yet 
in one or two points is positively at fault, — as when he leaves us no 
English element, and seems to make you the eldest of the group ? 
If ever you find out I hope you will enlighten us. 

You are in the right as to my, through ignorance, not being able 
to say anything about Chatterton's literary position ; but the dreadful 
poverty which goaded him to so dreadful a deed I do know some- 
thing of ; and hard must be the heart which feels not for him, how- 
ever far from feeling with him. You bring the poor boy and his 



88 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

gifts and his career vividly before one : /, if I could write thus upon 
him, should say something more and something less, but I would not 
abate a tinge of pathos from the sweetly pathetic end. 

We could drive to Pevensey Castle, but are much too far off to 
reach it otherwise : so I do not think we shall reach it at all. Years 
ago our good Aunt Margaret treated me to the expedition. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[The name " Vanna " is here applied to the picture known as T/ie 
Daydream. Vanna Primavera was the original title. — I do not 
think that Christina ever met the Baroness Burdett-Coutts : yet it 
might be possible that at some such early date as 1855 she got a 
glimpse of her at Highgate. — La Pia was an oil-picture begun by 
Dante Rossetti towards 1867, but only finished towards 1880 : the 
allusion to " ricordarsi " will be obvious to a reader of Dante's Purga- 
torio. — Mr. and Mrs. Shields's tour, which he at least found intensely 
dismal, had been made with Aberdeen as its bourne. — Mr. George 
Hake had ceased to be Rossetti's secretary in January 1877, and they 
parted in some mutual displeasure ; but my brother had now received 
him with cordiality.] 

Ill PEVENSEY ROAD, EASTBOURNE. 

9 August [1880]. 

My DEAR Gabriel, 

... I hope we shall see the final "Vanna" some day : 
but indeed she was so beautiful at our last meeting that she fully 
sufficed me. Your charming letter has just come to hand, and 
cheers that " dear one " who sends you love. 

Startling, portentous, quasi incredible is the climax of Lady 
Burdett Coutts's noble life. Can such ends come of such begin- 
nings ? If so, may I never have gift, grace, or glamour, to woo me a 
husband not half my age ! ! ! I had heard of the intended marriage, 
though I knew not whether truly reported : but of the disparity of years 
I had not an inkling. All amazements pale before this : otherwise 
I also might gasp a moment at the vision of beautiful Mrs. Morris 
with her family boating on river Thames (?) for a week ; not only (I 
trust) with a cabin, but (I surmise) needing one. 



i88o— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 89 

No, I am sorry to say, I do not recall La Pia^ of whom it is so 
obviously seemly to " ricordarsi." But I hope we shall see her also 
in due course. . . . 

Poor Shields, I hope his tour was less dismal than your narrative 
suggests : why it should be so extra-dismal I do not exactly see ; but 
one certainly may walk the world as one's own wet blanket, and per- 
haps such is our friend's well-known tourist costume. I will hope 
that at any rate his wife is still young enough to find in life and 
in his company something not altogether odious, flat, and to be 
deplored. 

No wonder the White Ship won Penkill laurels. Scottish laurels, 
those : I with English feeling tend towards remarking 

"I trust you have within your brain 
500 good as he." 

I wish you would write more such, and on such subjects : surely 
they are well worth celebrating, and they leave no sting behind. . . . 
Very glad I am that you saw George Hake : I think his looks 
capital now, in their modified and pronounced style. . . . 

To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

14 Atigust [1880]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

We got back quite comfortably on Thursday, and here we 
are. . . . 

No, I was not thinking of arousing envy and spite when I 
spoke of the innocuous nature of historic ballads (something, of 
course, being pre-supposed as to theme and treatment), — but rather 
of one's own responsibility in use of an influential talent. As to 
"envy and spite," I think they may well (!) be roused by the White 
Ship. . . . 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[A certain person, quite unknown to Christina, had written to her 
for permission to set to music some poem or poems of hers, and she 
assented. This was mentioned to Rossetti ; and he, acting upon 



90 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

information which he had received from a credible source, told 
Christina that there was a scandal (were it well founded or not) in 
connection with that applicant, and it would be undesirable for her to 
have anything to do with him. She therefore wrote withdrawing her 
assent. The present letter shows an ensuing stage of the affair.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[6 September 1880.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

has written in answer. He does not say a word about 

the setting; but asserts himself "an innocent man" (premising that 
he " will not affect to misunderstand " my letter), and appears what 
in one case I consider justly hurt, and in the other resentful. I am 
very much pained : and think I shall write once more — finally — 
not of course to reconsider the question of the music, but to make 
myself less uncomfortable in case (however blindly) I have been 
unjust. No explanations or details or assertions will be needed : and 
under no possible circumstance can harm ensue. Do not laugh : 
I am weighed upon by the responsibility of all one does or does not 
do; besides, I think our dearest Mother inclines in the same 
direction practically that I do as to this affair. Her dear love to 
you. 

To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[September 1880.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

Thanks for kind encouraging words where certainly some 
reassurance is opportune. 

Unless we are almost immediately to have the pleasure of seeing 
you, will you kindly return the original letter by post, — my copy 
there is no hurry about. But the other I want back because I have 

made up my mind what to do. wrote again enclosing strong 

evidence on his side. Two documents there were : one I think any 
candid person would admit carried great weight, the other goes far 
with me. But I do not feel a right to let them out of my hands, or 



i88i— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 91 

even to show them, except to our Mother, who is at least as favour- 
ably impressed by them as I am. The practical point to which all 

this tends is that I am going to send back all his letters and 

papers, so that he may feel sure they neither in my lifetime nor 
afterwards pass into other keeping; and I delay sending any till I 
can despatch all together. Poor fellow, whatever his case may be, 
he is infinitely to be pitied. . . . 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[The book here named is the one entitled Called to be Saints. 
Mr. (Fairfax) Murray has previously been mentioned as the pur- 
chaser of a MS. by Christina. — Mrs. Anna Eliza Bray was a cousin 
of our mother on the maternal side, authoress of several books, 
including an autobiography. She married in the first instance a son 
of the painter Thomas Stothard, and in the second instance a 
clergyman.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[29 December i8So.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

. . . Did William tell you that I am likely before long to 
have another volume out with the Christian Knowledge Society ? 
That very work on the Saints' Days which possibly you may recollect 
I composed several years ago, and for which I long failed to secure a 
publisher. It is in the press, and I conjecture (but this is a mere 
guess) that it may perhaps see the light towards Easter. I do not 
know what money it will bring in ; but I have hopes not less than 
the last, and that was j[^\o. Of course there will be a printer's copy 
in time, and Mr. Murray asked me to let him know if one should 
accrue : so I must let him know some day. 

Presumably our cousin Mrs. Bray turned 90 on Christmas Day ! ! 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[I suppose that this letter belongs to 188 1. It was in that year 
that Christina brought out her volume, A Pageant and Other 
Foems.^ 



92 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

" 30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

I January \} 1 881]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

Mamma is extremely pleased with your affectionate full 
letter received yesterday evening, despite the pain sympathy in your 
difficulties and anxieties arouses in her. Be sure I contribute my 
mite of sympathy. ... A thousand thanks for Mr. Watts's sister's 
admiration, and for your care for my fame. I don't think harm will 
accrue from my S.P.CK. books, even to my standing : if it did, I 
should still be glad to throw my grain of dust into the religious 
scale. I am seriously hoping, however, to get up a vol. of poems 
before so very very long. There are a few poems in my Saints' Day 
book. Mamma's very dear love to you. 

Fro7n Dante Rossetti. 
[The sonnet sent herewith was Michelangelo^ s Kiss^ 

13 January 1881. 

My dear Christina, 

You know my habit of patching up matters by letter-writing. 
I felt I did not show how much pleased I was to see you to-day. 
Don't answer on the point, but feel sure I was pleased nevertheless. 

If Aunt Charlotte should feel inclined, as you indicated, to come 
here to see the picture, try and let me know when, and I shall be 
most pleased to show it. Try also for both your sakes to choose a 
less deadly day. 

Love to our dearest Mother and to both Aunts. 

As dear Mamma loves sonnets, I put a new one opposite. I think 
the beautiful anecdote will please her, as told by M.A.'s loving pupil 
Condivi. 

You may observe in the sonnet a pun on Buonarruoti — of course 
it ought to be ruot^, but I suppose it might be perceptible. 

To William Rossetti. 

[This relates to the volume A Pageant and other Poems. The 
reference to "twins ".was consequent upon a domestic event in my 
own household.] 



i88i— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 93 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[28 April 1 88 1.] 

My dear William, 

" lo anche — " ! At last I took the plunge and sent in 
some poems to Macmillan, who before he saw accepted them, — for 
I wrote first on the subject, and he closed with them forthwith. I 
am somewhat in a quake, a fresh volume being a formidable upset of 
nerves, — but at any rate, it cannot turn out twins ! 

I am sure you take interest enough in my doings to deem this 
news worth your hearing. . . . 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[The "noble sonnet" was the one on the assassination of Czar 
Alexander II.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[2 May 188 1.] 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

Thankyou for sight of a noble sonnet towards which our 
Mother and I do warm as you may think. Would that every one felt 
with you, even though the bulk of feelers must ever lack such power 
of expression, — and, most of all, would that our nearest and dearest 
felt with you. Our Mother sends love, and therewith expresses her 
admiration and her sympathy. . . . 

I am quite pleased about Macmillan, because he said yes without 
asking to see the M.S. or making a single enquiry as to either bulk 
or subject. I hope the apparent lag of your proofs is merely because 
the publishing moment (October?) must now be awaited: perhaps 
mine may be ready by that date, but about this I know nothing 
whatsoever. I have not yet, as you may guess, received my first 
sheet. . . . 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[The query whether Dante Gabriel might " recollect " any of the 
localities about Sevenoaks glances back to a remote year, 1850, when 
he was there along with Holman Hunt and F. G. Stephens, painting 
the background of a picture.] 



94 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

FAYREMEAD, SEVENOAKS. 

[26/«/y 1 88 1.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

I am glad you are feeling " curious" about my volume, and 
I hope that now any day your curiosity may be gratified. 

Monday (that is, yesterday) was announced to me as the day of 
publication, but then something was added about getting copies 
from the binder, which leaves me in doubt how far we are in reality 
ready for the critical moment. William saw the sonnets before you, 
merely because calling one day he downright asked to look at book, — 
a nervous moment for me, though I braved it out. Those he means 
are Monna Imiominata, but there is a second set entitled Later 
Life, which I hope may also claim attention. Following your 
brotherly opinion I have written to Macmillans suggesting the 
immediate forwarding both of the old and of the new vols, to Mr. 
Watts, whose address I fortunately have ; and, thinking an early copy 
was one main point, I further suggested that if still unbound one 
should go in sheets. 6 copies are all I claim as my free share, 
though I have no doubt I may have more when I want them within 
reasonable limits: but these 6 I supplement at once by a few 
purchased. 

The rent here, all inclusive, is ;£^. lo. o per week : and this, divided 
among 4 of us, is not overwhelming. On the whole I think these 
are the very nicest lodgings we ever occupied. Knole Park we have 
passed by in driving, though we might find it too far for a walk. . . . 
Another pretty place to drive through — at least, Knole Park is not 
open to visitors in carriages, only to pedestrians — but one may drive 
through Wilderness Park, and pretty it is. Then there is a charming 
wood hereabouts, which recalled those near Hunter's Forestall ; and 
there is a quaint, pretty village named Seal. I wonder if you recollect 
any of these. 

I meant to bring Gamberale's book with me, but in the bustle of 
preparation I left it behind. So now I must stay my curiosity till I 
get home again. I entertain the idea of sending him my new volume; 
though if Miraggio is his "chef d'oeuvre" I am not quite certain 
whether Sing-Song might not lend itself still better than the other 
to his hand, — Sing-Song containing some of my best songs. Perhaps 



i88i— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 95 

however it would strike him as too babyish. If his translations 
from you are inadequate, I am glad that at any rate his article is 
better. . . . 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[The reference to "nearly 200 lines added to Jenny '^ applies, not 
to any addition made by Dante Rossetti, but to the amplification 
appearing in Gamberale's translation. The article in the Rassegna 
was also by Gamberale ; and, by some odd blunder, the name of 
Christina's prose-volume Commonplace had there been given as 
"Commonplace Cook." — Mr. Horder was editor of a compilation 
named The Poets' Bible. — The phrase " seated by the grave of buried 
hope " was I think the invention of Dante Gabriel as defining the 
tone of some of Christina's poems.] 

FAYREMEAD, SEVENOAKS. 

4 August 1881. 

Mv DEAR Gabriel, 

. . . Nearly 200 lines added to Jen?iy is portentous. But, 
as you imply, what an admirably appreciative article it is in the 
Rassegna. When (as I contemplate) I send Signor Gamberale my 
new volume, I think I shall put up with it a i/- Sing-Song, and 
thus he will possess all my poems. How funny it is to see one of my 
books figuring as "Commonplace cook." Of course I am feeling 
anxious about the prospects of my Pageant, and indeed I am well 
pleased to be away just now from London. I shall like — or shall I 
far from like ? I — to see Mr. Caine's Academy article, and I hope and 
fear in prospect of Mr. Watts in the Athenceum. . . . 

Oddly enough I also told Mr. Horder that I doubted whether 
any one of my pieces would come into his scheme. Besides a few 
letters between us, he called one day on me, and turns out to be 
bright and rather agreeable and youngish if not young. I think 
however that, when my fresh S.P.C.K. volume is actually published, 
that may perhaps contain a poem or two worth his consideration. . . . 

Considering that I was " old and cold and grey " so many 
years ago, it is (as you suggest) no wonder that nowadays I am "so 
shrunk and sere." — If only my figure would shrink somewhat ! For 
a fat poetess is incongruous especially when seated by he grave of 
buried hope. 



96 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[The Pageant^ as it turns out, has been performed more than 
once : once on quite a striking scale, in the Albert Hall, Kensington. 
— The "courteous tilt in the strong-minded woman lists," between 
Mrs. Webster and Christina, was merely an interchange of private 
letters ; arising out of an invitation from Mrs. Webster that Christina 
should give her assent to the granting of female suffrage — which my 
sister preferred not to do. Two letters of hers on this subject, 
addressed to Mrs. Webster, are printed in Mr. Mackenzie Bell's 
work, Christina Rossetti. — The reference to a Dante picture and 
Liverpool arises from the fact that my brother was now negotiating 
for the sale of his largest picture, Dante's Dream, to the Walker 
Art-gallery in Liverpool ; and it had been suggested that the work 
should be sent to the annual exhibition in that gallery, and should 
then, if approved, be purchased. He declined to do this, unless 
there were a positive understanding beforehand that purchased it 
would be.] 

FAVREMEAD, SEVENOAKS. 

9 Atigusi [1881]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

. . . Indeed I am not " sulking " beside the grave of twice- 
buried hope because you have not read my book as yet. In fact, 
there is a certain sense in which delay respites one's nerves, however 
in the long run one wants to be read : and I am very glad that a 
glance has certified you of something to be liked. I too am not 
without hope that the Pageant may achieve some success as a 
drawing-room acting piece. It had its rise in one of the All Saints 
Sisters asking me whether I could concoct something performable by 
her sister's family ; and, though the result was on too grand a scale 
for the applicant, yet it was that hint which first set me off. The 
piece was, in the main, written at Seaford two summers ago. No 
reviews have reached me as yet. I heard from Boston the other day 
(enclosing a remittance of ;£\ -0-7 !) informing me that no early 
sheets had reached Roberts Brothers : this disappoints me, but now 
of course they can procure a copy and reprint from it. . . . 

This is so lovely a place that I could wish every one to share its 
charms. One morning we drove to Knole Park, and strolled and sat 



i88i— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 97 

there to our hearts' content : no wonder you recollect so beautiful 
a spot. It charmed us along so that our dearest Mother took quite 
a long walk, rivalling the most active of us. 

I am not well versed in George Eliot as a bard, but feel inclined 
to rate Mrs. Webster decidedly higher. The latter, some of whose 
poetry I really have admired, has sent me her fresh volume ; so I 
have duly returned mine. Once she and I had a courteous tilt in 
the strong-minded woman lists, so it became doubly incumbent upon 
me to fall short in no observance. We think so good a friend as 
Mr. Watts may well receive even the honour of a Dedication from 
you, nor am I amazed that he "set his heart" upon it. Thanks for 
an intelligible clue to " Common place cook : " I had not reasoned 
it out. . . . 

A second visit to you, like the one last April, is something for 
Mamma and me to look forward to: but in any case "what has 
been has been," and the one we paid you is good to look back upon. 

I should think not, your "Dante" tramp to Liverpool "on 
approval " ! ! 

To Dante Rossetti. 

[Christina's " reference to the Portuguese Sotmets " comes in her 
prose heading to the " Sonnet of Sonnets " named Manna Innomi- 
nata, included in the Pageant volume ; and is certainly expressed 
quite clearly enough for a reader's purposes. What she says in 
her letter — that the speaker in her sonnets was not intended for 
an " innominata at all " — is curious, and shows (what is every now 
and then apparent in her utterances) that her mind was conversant 
with very nice shades of distinction. It is indisputable that the real 
veritable speaker in those sonnets is Christina herself, giving expres- 
sion to her love for Charles Cayley : but the prose heading would 
surely lead any reader to suppose that the ostensible speaker is one 
of those ladies, to whom it adverts, in the days of the troubadours. — 
The Ballad of Boding does clearly bear some substantial resemblance 
— though a resemblance with much of difference — to Sleep at Sea. 
" The sonnet you hint at " is a double sonnet named Behold a Shaking. 
— " October's remark " is this — ■ 

" Here comes my youngest sister, looking dim 
And grim, 
With dismal ways."] 



98 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[5 September 1881.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

We are all congratulant over the Dante picture, Mamma 
heading our family phalanx. I do certainly think it would have 
been sacrificing real advantage to a mere punctilio if you had held 
out about its being sold (merely in appearance) from the Exhibition. 
It looks very friendly of Mr. Caine to have gone off to Liverpool on 
purpose to see with his own eyes. I am much pleased with his 
Academy article, though sorry that he seems to have misapprehended 
my reference to the Portuguese Son^iets. Surely not only what I 
meant to say but what I do say is, not that the Lady of those sonnets 
is surpassable, but that a " Donna innominata " by the same hand 
might well have been unsurpassable. The Lady in question, as she 
actually stands, I was not regarding as an "innominata" at all, — 
because the latter type, according to the traditional figures I had in 
view, is surrounded by unlike circumstances. I rather wonder that no 
one (so far as I know) ever hit on my semi-historical argument before 
for such treatment, — it seems to me so full of poetic suggestiveness. 
That you praise it endorses its worth to me, and I am graced by Mr. 
Watts's approbation, I do not recall anything in my private [? previous] 
volume which foreshadows the Ballad of Boding : but your memory 
may well outdo mine. As to the Sonnet you hint at, I cannot joke on 
that subject. I am desirous of the Athe?iceu??i critique, and fancied 
it might be out ere this ; but am not impatient. In a letter from 
Mrs. Scott Scotus sent me up a warm admiring word on " Monna." . . . 

To get back a moment to my book, — I cannot forbear adding 
how delighted I am at the favourable verdicts on the Pageant. I 
fancy it among the best and most wholesome things I have produced, 
and I have had a quiet grin over October's remark which ushers in 
November, as connecting it with my own brothers and myself ! 
Pray appreciate the portrait. — It dawns upon me that Sleep at Sea 
is the piece in your mind : I hope the diversity is sufficient to justify 
the Ballad of Boding. 

Surely you need not restrict your affectionate family callers to 
those moments when there is something " to show " : — but this is 
merely an observation en passant. 

With a best of good loves from our Mother, &c. 



i88i— TO DANTE ROSSETTI 99 



To Dante Rossetti, Fisher Place, Ciwiberland. 

[Dante Rossetti, in company with Mr. Hall Caine, had now gone 
to a very retired spot in Cumberland to recruit his health — which, 
however, he did not succeed in doing to any perceptible extent. 
He had sent to our mother a letter (not addressed to himself) 
from Sir J. Noel Paton, expressing enthusiastic admiration for 
the picture of Dante's Drea??t. His "poems" were the volume 
named Ballads and Soimets ; there was also another volume, 
published about the same time, re-issuing, with some considerable 
variations, the volume Poems of 1870, but I infer that Christina had 
not as yet seen the re-issue. — The passage about "the snail" is a 
reply to one in Dante Gabriel's letter to our mother, 22 September : 
"Christina will be interested to hear that, as I was leaning over a 
bridge to-day, an old snail came up out of his shell and submitted to 
be stroked, after which he retired."] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[1881— ? 24 Sept ember. '\ 

My dear Gabriel, 

Your letters in general and this one in particular charm 
our Mother. Her dearest love to you, and delight in your delight 
amid your beautiful new world. Sir Noel Paton (herein returned, 
but not before I copied the passage for her to keep) gives her keen 
pleasure; nor, I assure you, in all this am I without my share of 
sympathetic enjoyment. Mamma is reading your Poems, noting her 
favourites ; but besides this we are to have the joint treat of my 
reading them aloud to her, and already I have di;pped enough to thrill 
and warm to the much beauty. 

The snail — I interpose a space between him and your poems ! — 
soothes and solaces my taste. " Gli voglio bene." . . . 

I have not seen any more reviews of my volume, and have failed 
to procure the severe Pall Mall through some mistake in the date. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

[Christina quotes here an expression of Dante Rossetti in eulogy 
of Mr. Hall Caine. It may be inferred that she had thereupon, in a 



loo CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

letter not now forthcoming, indulged in some reciprocation of this 
eulogy, including in it more or less Mr. George Hake and Mr. 
Treffry Dunn ; and that Dante had replied (whether reasonably or 
otherwise) damping down her laudation. He was now returning 
from Cumberland.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[1881— ? 19 October.'\ 

My dear Gabriel, 

By the same delivery as your welcome letter came the 
AihencBum review of your poems. I don't know that I ever saw 
anything so good of Mr. Watts's, and I am happy to see him shine 
as a planet in conjunction with our family sun. I am wanting (yet 
dreading ?) to see some day the additions to Sister Helen : — have 
even you really found it possible to augment advantageously that 
terse fierce masterpiece ? We usually see the AthencBum more or 
less after date, so the delay of this number was a mere matter of 
course. 

I dare say my " burst " read quite as abruptly as yours ! But it 
had its source simply in your own words to our Mother : " Caine is 
excessively attentive and friendly, and is really quite an abnegator of 
self." Hero-worship is not the feeling I dedicate to George Hake, 
much less to Mr. Dunn, though I have a warm liking for the former 
and a secondary do. for the latter: but I can imagine grave faults in 
both, and am quite sure you know a great deal about them which 
must (and is most welcome to) continue unknown to me. Yet I 
recollect our good Maria once remarking that one never understood 
a person unless one liked him, and so far I fancy I may have the 
best chance of grasping our subject. Nevertheless facts are stubborn 
things, not to be modified by a Quixotic view-point. I fear you 
are at this moment travelling up in the cold, and proportionately 
uncomfortable. And the house-hunting is an overhanging dreariness. 
May you get well through both, but the latter makes me anxious 
for you. 

Our Mother's love to you : she too admires the Watts article, 
with its felicitous passage about the nightingale singing to the 
Sahara. 



i88i— FROM CAYLEY loi 

To Dante Rossetti, 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[1881— ? 21 Oaoder.] 

My dear Gabriel, 

William tells us you have not seen the Times review, and, 
as he seems to think you may like to look at it, our Mother sends 
it with love. . . . She and I were reading some more of your Sonnets 
this morning in a harmony of admiration, and in Chimes I revel 
in the moth. 

Dear Maria's Shadow of Dante has reached a 3rd edition. 

From Charles Cayley. 

[The reference to "Horace's second Ode" is obscure to me: 
perhaps Cayley had been translating the poem. — The Howell here 
mentioned must be Charles Augustus Howell, an Anglo-Portuguese 
frequently referred to in books about Dante Rossetti. The 
" Napoleonic discourse " must have been one delivered at the 
Philological Society by the celebrated linguist of the Bonaparte 
family.] 

6 November 1881. 

Dear Christina Rossetti, 

For Horace's second ode, in some respects, I won't venture 
to apologize to you ; conserva pur la spe^ne, dolce monna. I met quite 
unexpectedly at the Philol. our old friend Howell : besides that, we 
were, I won't say enhghtened but embrightened, by handsome Mrs. 
Furnivall. But I and Howell, in succession, both shifted our chairs 
during the Napoleonic discourse, I to avoid the heat, and H. to 
listen greedily to the Prince's Portuguese examples, which seem to 
have been pronounced to his entire satisfaction. Afterwards he 
introduced himself to the Prince, and they talked away in English, 
French, and Portuguese, not without very civil references to me, the 
Prince in regard to my Russian grammar paper and Howell from his 
points of view. So flowed that hour, but what can I say of Saturday 
except that the Museum was quite spifflicaiting (I have a cousin in 
the North country who emphasizes her words by putting as many 



I02 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

letters as possible into them, and I suppose would not stick at 
creighhire or Wraddicall). I saw too on Friday H. Leifchild's bas 
relief of Ariadne and Bacchus. Ariadne sits under a tree, her head 
drooping though not entirely. Bacchus advances with earnest 
curiosity, one arm thrown behind him and the hand raised to motion 
" backward " to his followers ; said followers are two Maenads, striding 
forward and stopped suddenly. . . . 

To William Rossetti. 

[This letter is consequent upon an incident which I have recorded 
in my Metnoir of Dante Rossetti, as follows: — "By 21 November I 
observed him to be somewhat less shaken in health, but deeply 
melancholy. Matters of very old as well as more recent date agitated 
his mind; even so old as the year 1847 or 1848, when his desultory 
habits of work, or lack of filial deference, used to annoy our father, 
and elicit some severe expressions from him." My brother showed 
on this occasion some inclination to consult a Roman Catholic priest. 
I mentioned the matter to Christina. Mr. Burrows, whom she names 
(soon afterwards Canon Burrows of Rochester), was the Anglican in- 
cumbent of Christ Church, Albany Street, and well known to my 
family for many years past. However, my brother did not in fact 
consult either a Catholic or an Anglican.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[30 November 18S1.] 

My dear William, 

Thinking about what you said of poor dear Gabriel's 
distress, I seem to recover a shadowy recollection of the incident, 
and, if I am right. Mamma used her influence successfully to get 
the words unsaid. / cannot, perhaps, start the subject, as it has 
never been mentioned to me : but possibly you may feel able to do 
so. No wonder that in weakness and suffering such a reminiscence 
haunts weary days and sleepless hours of double darkness. How 
exceedingly I wish Mr. Burrows or one like him had access within 
the nearly-closed precincts : you must laugh at ine if you will, but 
I really think a noble spiritual influence might do what no common 
sense, foresight of ruin, affection of friends, could secure. And Mr. 
Burrows I know he respects. 

In much anxiety and sympathy, &c. ... 



i88i— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 103 

To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[2 December 188 1.] 

My dearest Gabriel, 

I write because I cannot but write, for you are continually 
in my thoughts and always in my heart, much more in our Mother's 
who sends you her love and dear blessing. 

I want to assure you that, however harassed by memory or by 

anxiety you may be, I have (more or less) heretofore gone through 

the same ordeal. I have borne myself till I became unbearable 

by myself, and then I have found help in confession and absolution 

and spiritual counsel, and relief inexpressible. Twice in my life I 

tried to suffice myself with measures short of this, but nothing would 

do ; the first time was of course in my youth before my general 

confession, the second time was when circumstances had led me 

(rightly or wrongly) to break off the practice. But now for years 

past I have resumed the habit, and I hope not to continue it 

profitlessly. 

" 'Tis like frail man to love to walk on high, 
But to be lowly is to be like God," 

is a couplet (Isaac Williams) I thoroughly assent to. 

I ease my own heart by telling you all this, and I hope I do not 
weary yours. Don't think of me merely as the younger sister whose 
glaring faults are known to you, but as a devoted friend also. 



To Lucy Rossetti. 

[It was on II December 1881 that my brother had an attack of 
partial paralysis, the precursor of the form of illness which brought 
his life to a close on 9 April 1882. This letter, as will be seen, was 
written soon after the attack.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[21 December 1881.] 

My dear Lucy, 

I dare say you guess what is coming ! Mamma sends you 
love, but has not courage to dine out on Christmas Day : she falls 
back on her resolution formed after her last such experiment, when 



I04 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

she resolved that that particular effort should really be the last of 
its kind. So our party of old ladies will dine (d.v.) peacefully in 
company, meanwhile wishing every blessing to yourself and dear 
William and la cara prole. To-night festivities recede into extra 
impossibility, for we have been seeing Gabriel, and have borne the 
shock of finding out the state he is in, laid up and partly powerless. 
God help us, for human help is but a very helpless thing. 



To William Rossetti. 

[I hardly know what was the " little picture " finished by Dante 
Gabriel; it may probably have been the latest that he brought to 
actual completion.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

23 [January] 1882. 
Mv DEAR William, 

. . . We had the pleasure of a second visit from Gabriel 
last week — on Thursday, I think, — when he was more animated 
and mentioned having finished a little picture. Our dear Mother 
sends you love, and she cheers me by being quite decidedly 
better. . . . 



To William Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[2 Fdu-tiary 18S2.] 

My dear William, 

Mamma thinks you may have heard that she and I were 
likely to go down with Gabriel to Birchington next Saturday, and, 
if so, she wishes you to know that the plan has failed because Mr. 
Stewart absolutely refuses his assent, thinking the risk too great for 
her to incur at this season and in conjunction with her recent attack 
of illness. We are sorry for poor dear Gabriel, but I can only write 
him word of the imperative disappointment. He came here yesterday 
seeming quite as well and cheerful as we could expect, and his 
leaving town next Saturday seems to be fully fixed. There is a long 
review of his book in this week's Guardian^ in part enthusiastically 



i882— FROM DANTE ROSSETTI 105 

laudatory ; doubtless we shall recover it from Aunt Charlotte some 
day, when if you please you can read it. 

Dearest Mamma continues satisfactory . . . 

To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

8 February [1882]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

Every day you are in our anxious thoughts, most of all in 
Mamma's. She sends you her dearest love and every good wish she 
can frame. Mr. Stewart, seeing her yesterday, repeated that a change 
of weather jniist precede her going out, — so we are awaiting such a 
change. If it takes place and is of some duration we are still looking 
forward to the not-impossibility of your liking us to join you at 
Birchington. 

I enclose a review sent me from Macmillan : perhaps, being 
foreign, it is the less likely to fall in your way. Please, at your 
convenience, let us have it back, as it belongs to the maternal store 
of such documents. Roberts (Boston) has sent me ;^i2 4^. 8^. 
just now : but he is disappointed (and I somewhat) at the sale of 
the Pageant, — under 500 : part of the small sum accrues from the 
former volume. 

From Dante Rossetti. 
[Mr. Frederick R. Leyland, the ship-owner of Liverpool, 
was one of the leading purchasers of Dante Rossetti's paintings. 
Towards this time he was staying at Ramsgate, and up to the last he 
was very attentive to Rossetti, to whom he was greatly attached.] 

[15 February 1882.] 

My dear Christina, 

Of course Monday was a stupid slip for Thursday. But I 
think the matter must be in abeyance for a little, much as I regret 
this. It is very stormy here just now, — then there is Leyland's visit 
probable, — and I should not perhaps refrain from saying that I have 
been more than usually ill for some days. Indeed I wish L. were 
not coming, but there has already been delay about his visit. Do not 
be alarmed, as there is no necessity. I will write again very soon. 



io6 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To William Rossetti. 

[My " admirably descriptive letter " must have been a letter to my 
cousin Teodorico giving some sort of description of my father's 
aspect and habits. He, with a view to a projected monument at 
Vasto, had asked Dante Gabriel to make some sketches of my 
father : but my brother's condition of health did not admit of his 
doing anything efificient, so I wrote down some details instead. — 
Christina's notes as to my father's appearance will explain themselves 
pretty well. The final item, " Menacing look connected with 
removing shade," refers to something I had written as to a somewhat 
" menacing look " in the oil-portrait of him by my brother painted in 
1848: this (as Christina implies) arose from the very imperfect 
condition of his eyesight when, in sitting for the portrait, he took off 
an eye-shade which he then habitually used.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[19 February 18S2.] 

My dear William, 

Thankyou for budget full of interest. Perhaps the enclosed 
pencil scrap will show you the points Mamma and I have annotated 
in your admirably descriptive letter — if you can make it out. I 
return Theo. and D. G., adding one from the latter to me which can 
be returned to me any day you come here. . . . Pray do not ascribe 
all his doings and non-doings to foundationless fidgetiness, poor dear 
fellow. Don't you think neither you nor I can quite appreciate all 
he is undergoing at present, what between wrecked health at least in 
some measure, nerves which appear to falsify facts, and most anxious 
money-matters ? It is trying to have to do with him at times, but 
what must it be to be himself? And he in so many ways the head 
of our family — it doubles the pity. I have just written answering his 
(enclosed) letter, but Mr. Stewart continues to object to Mamma's 
risking the Birchington visit. He is no longer in attendance, but 
happened to-day to see her as a friend. 

She sends you love. 

It was good Maria's birthday yesterday, and I went to the Home 
and saw beautiful Sister Eliza. 

Height rather 5-7. Throat massive. Adam's apple large. Blue 



i882— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 107 

and black check. Eyes and mouth beautiful. Smile very engaging. 
Teeth white and regular. Very thin at last, but never slim. Mena- 
cing look connected with removing shade. 



To Dante Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

27 [February 1882]. 

My dear Gabriel, 

Our Mother, with much love, responds in kind (as also do 
I) to your renewed kind invitation, and hopes we shall really be with 
you in the course of Wednesday afternoon . . . 

We are sorry for your hindered work, and still more sorry for the 
failure of galvanism to restore your poor dear arm. If we say little 
about your health, it is not because we are indifferent on the subject. 
Thankyou for the chronic good-nature which tells me of 2 mentions 
of me : I look forward to seeing both Athenceum and Academy 
when with you. 

The chair is a heretofore unforeseen but now gladly foreseen 
haven of rest. 

To William Rossetti. 

[Mr. (John H.) Ingram had become Editor of the series of 
memoirs named Eminent Women. He wished Christina to write 
one of the memoirs, and she was not disinclined, but it did not 
come to pass. — I do not now remember who was the Mr. Nicoll 
referred to, unless perhaps it was Dr. Robertson Nicoll : the book 
he spoke of was Christina's privately printed Verses, 1847. I possess 
a later letter from Christina, 1886, showing that her Mr. Nicoll was 
then a resident at Kelso.] 

WESTCLIFF bungalow, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA, KENT. 

4 March 1882. 

My dear William, 

I cannot give at all a bright account of Gabriel, yet I have 
seen him by far more depressed and unavailable. He now reads 
amusing books sedulously, talks about them and draws our attention 



io8 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

to them. How much or how little he sleeps I cannot accurately say, 
— in some degree, I hope ; but am not certain. One of the most 
troublesome and actively distressing points now appears to be a 
terrible defect of digestion . . . The poor left side, the arm and hand 
especially, continues crippled. I am afraid no sensible improvement 
takes place. He has not gone out since our arrival, having been but 
poorly since the attack which delayed our journey ; and he thinks 
it too cold for driving in an open carriage. Very cold it is, but fine 
and sunny and nothing noticeable as to windiness. I am not sure, 
but I have some idea that his work is waiting for something or other 
to be done by some one else : it seems at a stand, but I see a finished 
(I believe) Proserpine and Jean7te (fArc standing in this beautiful 
drawing-room, one end of which forms the studio with easel and 
other appliances. I wish you could come down, but I well know 
you are full of business. Mr. Watts arrived here to day, and is most 
welcome to us ; Mr. Caine is friendly and pleasant, and so far as I 
see on comfortable terms with Gabriel ; Lily Caine is a nice unob- 
trusive child of 1 2, — a real child, not a young person. 

I have not yet written to Mr. Ingram, but hope to write on 
Monday. I had a letter from Mr. NicoU this morning, and in a P.S. 
he says : — " I observed a copy of the little volume you refer to (/. e. 
Grandpapa^ s) in Mr. Pearson's catalogue the other day ; the price I 
think was five guineas " — 5, I read it, but you know Mr. NicoU's 
handwriting is not pellucid. 

Our mother's love, and mine, to you and yours. 

To William Rossettl 

[Mrs. Abrey was a sick-nurse who remained with Dante Rossetti 
to the end. — The "ballad of a grotesque-horrid type" was called 
The Dutchma?i's Pipe, or Jan van Hunks. Rossetti took it up on 
his deathbed, completed it, and presented the MS. as a gift to Mr. 
Watts-Dunton : the general frame of it, however, belongs to a very 
early date in his life, perhaps 1847. It has not as yet been published. 
— The doctor in Birchington who attended Dante from time to time 
was Dr. Harris. When I was again at Birchington in 1906 I 
observed that his well-remembered door-plate is still on his house- 
door. — Mr. Martin was the tenant or manager of a hotel near the 
bungalows at Birchington — which was then a less settled residential 



i882— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 109 

place than it is now. — The phrase "I should decline the 2 Georges" 
means George Sand and George Eliot. — Mrs. Gemmer, a lady well 
known to Christina (still I think alive), used the fancy-name Gerda 
Fay for her books.] 

WESTCLIFF BUNGALOW, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA, KENT. 

8 March 1882. 

My dear William, 

Thanks for your letter full of interest and brotherly 
kindness. Our dear Gabriel passed nearly the whole of yesterday in 
bed, so far as I know ; but at any rate in the evening he sat up. 
This lapse into bed was led to by a touch in one foot of what seems 
gout ; as to its being so Mrs. Abrey and Mr. Watts were unanimous. 
Happily the rest and safe-keeping of his foot kept him fairly comfort- 
able ; and, when Mamma and I sat with him a considerable time in 
the afternoon, he was chatty and reasonably cheerful, inclined, as so 
often is the case, to revive old memories, but not under gloomy 
aspects. ... I have not seen or heard of him as yet to-day, but 
hope that he may be tolerable; after swallowing yesterday . . . 
medicine considered indispensable before grappling with gout as gout : 
on this point Mr. Watts pronounced imperatively. He left this morn- 
ing rather early, before we could see him, and a great loss he is from 
our anxious circle. His kindness is beyond praise, and Mr. Caine 
co-operates in friendly offices. We find Lily Caine — who by fairness 
deserves her promotion from Elizabeth to Lily — an agreeable small 
inmate. One point gained is that Mr. Watts is quite struck with the 
mental improvement achieved : a ballad of a grotesque-horrid type 
is in hand, and so far as I observe not a shadow of delusion comes 
to light. I read G. your messages of love and regret for absenteeism, 
and also the P.S. about Arthur, which charms Mamma who sends you 
best love. I am much amused at his addiction to dectllwns, which 
used to figure in my own infant conversation. Pray give our 2 loves 
to Lucy and all round. 

Since waiting what precedes I have seen Mrs. Abrey (it 
is now about noon). ... By Mr. Watts's advice before starting 
Mr. Caine has obtained from Mr. Martin a doctor's name in the 
village who can be called in in case of an emergency ... I do 
not know what to think or how much to fear, but at the least I cannot 



no CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

help fearing that more symptoms than one point to a sluggishness 
or congestion (what is it to be called ?) pervading the frame, and of 
which the arm and left side are but one strongly affected seat. Mr. 
Watts says, and seems sure, that the arm is really affected by a 
degree of chloral paralysis. This is all grievous for you to read, but 
I on the spot must write as I hear. Be sure I will not neglect to let 
you know of important points; so while I do not write trust that 
there is nothing special. Mr. Martin came in one evening and 
seems to be a kind-hearted intelligent man most friendlily disposed, 
and able to converse on books and intellectual topics. He has lent 
the bungalow a good large telescope, adequate to displaying Saturn's 
Rings as I am told. . . . 

Now for other matters. Everything you do in the Ingram business 
has my gratitude. I will remember " Dare," not " d'Arc." — Mrs. 
Fry I would gladly try at, nor do I fancy I should find Lady Augusta 
Stanley insurmountable : I should decline the 2 Georges, and prefer 
leaving Miss Martineau. Afary Lamb I should think would be 
both manageable and well worth writing. Meanwhile it strikes me 
that the very person to write A. A. Procter would be not myself but 
Anna Mary Watts, who was in the heart of that social set instead of 
(as I was) on its merest outskirt. I had a long letter from Mr. 
Ingram this morning, which I must answer before sending it you, — 
afterwards, it may perhaps interest you to read it. . . . Without 
counting Anna Mary (whom I think of naming as presumably more 
to the point than myself for A. A. P.) 3 friends suggest themselves 
as worth pointing out to Mr. Ingram as perhaps adapted and willing 
to contribute biographies, — Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Gemmer, and most of 
all Henrietta Rintoul : these I should myself name to him, if you 
are struck as I am with their merits ; but I should like to have your 
opinion first. By the by, I must ask Mr. Ingram for Mrs. Procter's 
address, but he lavishes offers of aid upon me. 

Far from being less well, our dear Mother bore the journey with 
impunity, and now thrives in this fine and not unduly keen air, . . . 

I sent my notes of good Maria's life to Mr. Nicoll on Monday, 
but have not heard from him since. Could you believe that down 
here I feel over-full of occupation ! ! ! It must, you may say, be a 
mere morbid sensation ; and very likely so it is in a measure : I 
must bear in mind the celebrated "There will be eternity to rest in." 



i882— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 



To William Rossetti. 

[A passage in this letter, as also in a preceding one, might lead 
to an inference that I rather doubted the gravity of our brother's 
illness. This, however, was not the case : I was but too fully alive 
to it. I may have repeated to Christina, what I knew on medical 
authority, that some symptoms of the illness partook of delusion 
consequent on the illness itself ; as for instance, when he thought he 
could not move his arm, he could in fact have done so if only his 
volition had been in a normally healthy state. But, the volition 
failing, the ability practically failed as well. The letter of 28 March 
adverts to this.] 



WESTCLIFF BUNGALOW, BIRCHINGTOX-ON-SEA, KENT. 

14 March 1882. 

My dear William, 

With all my wish to send you news, I really cannot say whether 
Gabriel is gaining or losing ground. In some ways the symptoms 
appear favourable. The night before last he slept comparatively well 
without any sedative : last night was much more restless, but not I 
think at all exceptionally restless. To-day we are expecting to see him 
enter the sitting-room : till to-day he has, ever since the touch of 
gout (?) been confined to his own room and in great measure to 
bed. Wherever he is, Mamma and I sit with him a great deal ; and 
he reads not novels only, but occasionally he takes up a newspaper. 
I spoke to Mrs. Abrey this morning, aiming to arrive at her real 
opinion : — she cannot account for the continued wasting away which 
goes on in spite of food and in some measure of tonics ; and she 
considers that he has retrograded from the point at which he 
stood some while ago, when (say) he arrived here. This is sad 
indeed, but the not saying it is vain. On the other hand we cannot 
be thankful enough that his head is clear and composed to such 
a degree that I could not even (judging by appearances) suspect 
its ever having been otherwise. Mrs. Abrey seems to fear that some 
deep-seated mischief may exist in the liver or what not, undermining 
the possibility of returning health. ... I think there are grounds 
to fear that some terrible mischief lurks in his constitution, and is 
(so to say) burrowing about him and checking any return of strength 



112 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

or revival of sensitiveness. Mrs. Abrey we like very much and 
depend upon thoroughly. Not a word is said about how long or 
how short a time we may stay here. The weather to-day is delightful, 
and on the whole has been mild and favourable. Pray do not 
doubt the reality of poor dear Gabriel's illness : do not let any 
theory or any opinion influence you to entertain such a doubt. Mr. 
Caine is away at present, for how long I know not. Mr. Martin 
(I fancied you knew about him) is builder to Mr. John Seddon as 
concerns this group of variously-constructed bungalows, and is also 
at the head of a bungalow Hotel and Boarding House close by ; and he 
is an intelligent man and a most kind neighbour. Mr. Watts, leaving 
here, was going to see Mr. Marshall the same day : and evidently he 
did so, illustrated by the fact that he sent down a fresh prescription 
from Mr. Marshall. 

I too have written to Mr. Ingram endorsing your suggestion of 
Anna Mary, proposing friends, and saying that for the present I find 
it impossible to set to work. Should a better moment occur later, I 
can then re-start the subject. . . . 



To William Rossetti. 

[Malvern and Wolverhampton are mentioned here because I had 
to deliver a lecture at Wolverhampton, staying meanwhile at the 
house at Malvern of Dr. Grindrod, whom I had known for a year 
past more as the author of some interesting historical dramas than in 
his medical capacity.] 

WESTCLIFF BUNGALOW, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA, KENT. 

17 March 1882. 

My DEAR William, 

Very welcome indeed was your good brotherly letter received 
this morning. Touching on it with Mr. Caine, he asked me to let 
you know that (as I understand) after seeing you he was assured 
by Mr. Marshall that no stress whatever need be laid on the extremely 
trifling quantity of morphia now being taken, as to its tendency in 
the direction you apprehend. But I am very glad you have told me 
of such being the result to opium-eaters : I had no knowledge of the 
fact. Mr. Caine also quoted your notes of a conversation years ago 



I 



i882— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 113 

with Mr. Knight, and Mr. Marshall's consequent remark : so you see 
store is set by what you contribute under the present anxiety. Of 
course all our talk was carried on not in Gabriel's presence, but when 
by ourselves : we make a fairly chatty and sociable party at luncheon. 
On the whole I think I may report Gabriel to have been rather 
better than worse since Sunday, on the evening of which day Mamma 
and I felt especially uneasy, though possibly without proportionate 
grounds. I will not forget about Mr. Ingram, but unless I get home 
cannot see my way to setting to work, — at the worst, may a worthier 
than I write. . . . 

We are having weather so mild and beautiful that I can scarcely 
define it as beautiful March weather. I hope Malvern will seem to 
you as delightful as it seems to my memory : Wolverhampton is 
unknown to me. The Incumbent of Malvern Link — there are a set 
of Malverns, all contiguous — is a noted Mr. Cosby White, and I met 
his wife a good while ago — but I do not expect you to encounter 
either. Maria must have known Mrs. C. W. better than I ; and very 
likely knew the husband too, whom I do not. 

Gabriel has read an article on himself in the World with 
satisfaction. 

To William Rossetti. 

[Mr. (William) Sharp was a very cordial friend of Dante Rossetti 
in his closing years. He published a book about him soon after 
Rossetti's decease ; and became himself a well-known author, both in 
his own name and in that of Fiona Macleod. Mr. John Seddon, the 
architect who built the bungalows at Birchington, had arranged for 
placing at my brother's disposal the one from which Christina wrote 
— now named Rossetti Bungalow,] 

WESTCLIFF BUNGALOW, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA, KENT. 

24 Marck 1882. 
My dear William, 

I dare say you are at home again, and if so am sure you will 
like to receive news. Sad to say, there is no very definite news to 
give. But poor Gabriel is going back apparently rather than going 
forward, and is so comfortless and sinking and so wasted away that 
at last this morning I urged him to see a local Dr., who of course can 



H4 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

make a thorough bodily examination. He agreed, and in the course of 
the afternoon we hope Dr. Harris — of whom the Clergyman here, 
Mr. Alcock, spoke favourably — will call and investigate his case. 
Gabriel had a restless night last night, and suffered from vomitings : 
to-day he is restless and depressed. It is a truly pitiable state even 
if he were not our brother. I will not close this letter yet, — before 
post-time I may perhaps have something to add. . . . 

No one is here now beyond ourselves and Mr. Caine, nor do I 
know of any one being definitely expected. Mr. Sharp was here for 
a couple of nights, and Mr. Leyland drove over for an hour or two 
last Sunday from Ramsgate ; he was longer in Birchington, but at 
a Hotel part of the time. On Saturday too Mr. John Seddon and his 
brother Major Seddon called and saw Gabriel. . . . 

About 5 p.m. Dr. Harris has just been, intelligent in look and 
manner. Considers the case very serious, but not irremediable. On 
the nerves, but requiring absolute cessation of Chloral & Co. (as I 
understand, — of the whole class) — also, if possible to achieve, self 
help in the way of exertion and occupation ; and I think he suggested 
amusement. This last of course is no easy item. He will com- 
municate with Mr. Marshall, and of course we expect to see him 
again. Meanwhile it is of imperative necessity that the digestive 
functions should be adequately attended to. I am not sure whether 
morphia has been included among the forbidden resources. 

To William Rossetti. 

[While I was out of London, at Malvern, and my wife in Man- 
chester, some odd affair happened of a man entering my house with- 
out leave : it turned out a trifle. — At Wolverhampton I had had a very 
scanty auditory for my lecture. The day was a singular specimen 
of British weather : quite fine and almost summer-like in the morn- 
ing ; then in early afternoon a wild drive of snow and penetrating 
cold which lasted into the evening.] 

WESTCLIFF BUNGALOW, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA, KENT. 

28 March 1882. 
My DEAR William, 

Mamma and I are full of concern at what you tell us of the 
alarming attempt to enter your house. No wonder you feel more 



i882— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 



"5 



than ever the advisabiUty of remaining on the spot to guard all dear 
and tender persons. Yet, seeing what we do see here, we cannot but 
rejoice at the prospect of your flying visit. Yesterday I waylaid Dr. 
Harris as he left the house : and, while he maintains that the im- 
pression of failing eyesight and general powerlessness is false in fact, 
however real to the patient, he showed the gravest apprehension as 
to mental (he always uses the word nerves) despondency, and plainly 
said that an eye must be kept on G. He is now administering 
soothing pills, and these seem efficacious. There is irritability at 
times, habitual depression, yet at the same time a degree of interest 
in hearing a novel or in conversation ; occasionally a gleam of cheer- 
fulness or of fun. Mr. Marshall has written to Dr. Harris, but of 
course I did not see the letter : your meaning to see Mr. Marshall 
yourself is a comfort. I have told Mr. Caine what trains you propose, 
and he verified them readily in his time-table. ... I have spoken 
to Mrs. Abrey, and there are 2 vacant bedrooms at present in the 
house ; so do not dream of a hotel. 

Mamma's love to you. We are quite hurt for you at the 40 
auditors, though the snow accounts for lukewarmness. I remember 
the glorious glimpse into Wales from a drive round the Malvern Hills, 
and, as I took that drive in summer, I probably saw all to more 
advantage. On Sunday morning I struggled home from church in 
what/g// like danger to my life from a storm of wind which began to 
rage after I got there : three times I was driven to take refuge in 
cottages, and at last was most happy in being able to procure a 
shut-up fly. . . . 

I have just been into Gabriel's room for a few minutes : he is in 
bed and much as usual after a not-noticeable night. I am writing 
not very long after breakfast. . . . 

To William Rossetti. 

[The reference to a cemetery is not now quite clear to me. My 
brother did not at this time write any story, apart from the ballad of 
The Dutchman s Pipe. He did, however, pay some degree of atten- 
tion to his old prose-tale St. Agnes of Intercession, written towards 
1850, and, had the conditions been propitious, he might have 
completed it.] 



ii6 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

30 [March 1882]. 

My dear William, 

The " cemetery " is nothing alarming, but (I gather) has to 
do with a story Gabriel has in hand. He rallied perfectly marvellously 
under Mr. Watts's influence, bursting once or twice into a scrap of 
comic song ! ! and Dr. Harris thought he observed a degree of 
improvement yesterday. Mr. Watts left us this morning. Mamma's 
dear love to you and yours. 

To William Rossetti. 

WESTCLIFF BUNGALOW, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA, KENT. 

S April 1882. 

My DEAR William, 

At last it seems Dr. Harris has formed a more complete 
opinion of the case, — but it is a very serious opinion. The brain 
is affected in such a way as (from what he says) I understand to 
be that which is commonly called "softening." But more than 
this, disease of the kidneys exists ; and, though he gives it no name, 
he indicates that it is of a fatal (though by no means necessarily 
of a rapidly fatal) kind. I do not know that so much as a suspicion 
of this latter disease was entertained even so lately as last Sunday 
when you were here : but Mrs. Abrey called Dr. Harris's atten- 
tion to something which now leads him to this sad conclusion. He 
still tells us that we must not accept as true all Gabriel's views of his 
own state, though he warmly admits that to the patient himself they 
are perfectly true ; and he perceives how unmanageable our patient 
is as to following medical orders : but on all this he may be said to 
lay no stress while dwelling upon the essential gravity of the case. I 
fear I shall have greatly shocked you by these details, but obviously 
I must not keep them back from you. Poor Gabriel this morning 
was talking affectionately of how affectionate you are and of your 
good looks, and asked if we had had news of Lucy and Mr. Brown. 
I hear something of a plan for his taking a drive this afternoon, but 
it is already past three o'clock and I know not whether it will be 
managed. If he wished to return home. Dr. Harris says he might 
do so, nor need Chelsea air be any worse for him than this, — but I do 



i882— FROM LADY MOUNT-TEMPLE 117 

not know that he entertains any such wish. Last night I sat up with 
him till about one o'clock, talking a little and reading a good deal. 
In spite of all, Dr. Harris remarks on the acute mind of poor dear 
Gabriel when he chooses to exert it ; and I am glad to find that he 
does know something of who he is. 

So I write from a saddened house, but I hope I write to a cheerful 
one. Mamma outstrips me in love to you and yours. 



Fro7n Madox Brown. 

CALAIS COTTAGE, CRUMPSALL, MANCHESTER. 

30 April 1882. 

My DEAR Christina, 

I can scarce thank you sufficiently for thinking of us, and 
writing to me at a moment when your thoughts must have been so 
fully taken up, and lassitude might well be supposed to follow on 
the terrible strain put on you during these last weeks. I was almost 
about to say discouragement in the stead of lassitude, but the word 
should have no place in connection with such an ending of such a 
career. The pain of parting is none the less, I know, but it seems a 
duty not to repine at a death so like that of a soldier dying for his 
country; for there is no doubt poor dear Gabriel's Hfe has been 
consumed the more rapidly owing to the continual outpouring of 
that poetry in song and picture which he seems to have been sent 
into the world to produce. 

Hoping to see more of you and your dear Mother when our long 
exile here is over and we may be once again settled in London, 
&c. . . . 



From Lady Mount-Temple. 

[The Blessed Damozel here mentioned was not either of the two 
oil-paintings, but a study of the head and shoulders of the Damozel, 
on a gold ground. The Beatrice is the Beata Beatrix^ which 
Lady Mount-Temple ultimately presented to the National British 
Gallery.] 



ii8 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

15 GREAT STANHOPE STREET, \V. 

13 May 1882. 

Dear Miss Rossetti, 

For the love we bore your brother, you will not, I trust, 
think it intrusive of me to write to you. We have been thinking so 
much of you — and of your Mother, and of your deep sorrow — and 
of the blank that the loss of his loving glowing presence must make 
in your existence. We, who were only on the edge of his life, feel so 
much gone from us with him. Cheyne House was to me a gate of 
heaven, and his rich cordial greeting made it glow with heart as well 
as genius. 

How much we owe him ! — His Beatrice and Blessed Damozel 
daily enrich our lives, and his being must always possess us ; and we 
may live more than ever in his radiance now that he has passed 
through all earthly clouds. 

If Mrs. Rossetti and you ever feel able to let me come and see 
you, it would be a great boon to me : but I know how much you 
love and need seclusion — so do not trouble yourselves about me. 
I shall always love you — at a distance — for his sake, and for all that 
you are to us yourself in the books we prize so much. 

In deep sympathy &c. . . . 

To Lucy Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

17>/y[l882]. 

My dear Lucy, 

It would be treating you as a stranger and not as one of 
ourselves to explain Mamma's answering your welcome letter by 
proxy. She thanks you for her pleasure in receiving it . . . 

You were talking about books the other day, — have you read 
Wilkie CoUins's Moonstone 1 It was the last I read to poor dear 
Gabriel, and it interested us. 

To William Rossetti, Southend. 

[I had gone to Southend to rally from an attack of gout. — The 
poem addressed by Mr. Swinburne to my twin children can only at 



i882— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI ng 

this time (I think) have been in MS, : it was published later on. 
His volume issued in 1882 was the noble poem Tristram of Lyonesse. 
It contains a prose dedication to Mr. Watts-Dunton, and a verse- 
dedication to the same friend, beginning "Spring speaks again 
and all our woods are stirred." The letter which accompanied Mr. 
Swinburne's gift to Christina is not now forthcoming. — My "review of 
Longfellow" was in The Athencetim : it was not, I think, depreciatory, 
but it indicated an estimate of his poetry which would not have 
satisfied his more thorough-going admirers. — Mr. William Tirebuck 
appears to have been the very first person in the field with a volume, 
a small one, relating to Dante Rossetti. — The reference to " not 
murdering Egyptians " arises from my having said, in a letter to my 
mother, that my income-tax had been or would be increased " for 
the valued privilege of murdering Egyptians." — Mr. Craik was a 
partner in the Macmillan firm, the publishers of Mr. Sharp's book 
on Dante Rossetti.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

26Jtd}i 1882. 

My dear William, 

Before I say how delighted Mamma was with your letter 
yesterday, I will beg you to convey her thanks to Lucy for her 
previous one which was the first to tell us the good news of your 
being better. . . . You may think how (if possible) our Mother is 
now more than ever anxious that no imprudence should detract from 
the well-being of her " Willie wee," — now that her 4 have dwindled 
to 2. Everything you narrate or can narrate of your funny little five 
cheers and interests her warm grandmotherly heart. I wish little 
Mary may inherit inward virtues even more than outward beauty 
from our fine-natured and fine-personed Grandmother ; of whom, by 
the by, F sometimes reminded Mamma in my early days. . . . 

Do you remember how our Maria was impressed by the im- 
partiality of your Lives of Poets ? Now I am so too, as well as by 
the admirable lucidity of your style. The facts would be interesting 
under any treatment, but you help instead of hindering readers. 
Those were interesting notes about Trelawny you lately contributed 
to the Athenceuniy and naturally / clap hands at your review of 
Longfellow ! 

Please give Lucy our 2 loves, and (if you can get through them) our 



I20 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

ten kisses to Olive, Arthur, Helen, Mary, Michael. What a prostrate 
poem does Mr. Swinburne address to the twins ! He has kindly 
presented me with his volume, a valued gift ; and I cannot forbear 
lending you — more especially lending Lucy — the letter which accom- 
panied the book. How much I like the Dedications both prose 
and verse. This is the fourth book he has sent me, and I not one 
hitherto to him, — so for lack of aught else I am actually offering him 
a Called to be Saints, merely however drawing his attention to the 
verses. 

Mr. Sharp has paid us two visits, one this afternoon, all about his 
book. Through Aunt Charlotte he has had access to the "Girlhood" 
picture, and soon he hopes to see what Miss Heaton has at Leeds. 
I called his attention to the window and pulpit at Scarborough, of 
which apparently he had never even heard. He tells us that Mr. 
Tirebuck is sub-editor of a Yorkshire paper, I forget the name : some 
of the Memoir of Gabriel I really admire, so I have far from ended 
in mere laughter at the style. O dear ! how willingly would I innir 
Income Tax for the sake of not murdering Egyptians or any one 
else : and our Mother would, I am sure, double or triple hers with 
the same obiect. . . . 

■' s 

I was forgetting to tell you that Mamma has lent Mr. Sharp her 
cherished Main^s So?tnet book, giving him leave to have the Sonnet 
drawing engraved for his book. Mr. Craik considered that the 
original could far more advantageously be worked from than could 
Mr. Sharp's photograph of the same. 



To William Rossetti. 

[The Sonnet by Mr. Swinburne on Rossetti, named A Death on 
Easter-day, and published afterwards in his Century of Roundels, was 
as follows : — 

"The strong spring sun rejoicingly may rise, 

Rise and make revel, as of old men said, 

Like dancing hearts of lovers newly wed : 
A light more bright than ever bathed the skies 
Departs for all time out of all men's eyes. 

The crowns that girt last night a living head 

Shine only now, though deathless, on the dead : 
Alt that mocks death, and song that never dies. 



i882— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 

Albeit the bright sweet mothhke wings be furled, 
Hope sees, past all division and defection, 

And higher than swims the mist of human breath, 
The soul most radiant once in all the world 
Requickened to regenerate resurrection 

Out of the likeness of the shadow of death."] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

2'ijitly 1S82. 

My dear William, 

. . . Mr. Swinburne has acknowledged with consummate 
graciousness Called to be Saints, and gives me great pleasure by liking 
the verses for St. Barnabas, Holy Innocents, SS. Philip and James. 
I do not think he is at all offended by my offering him the book. 
And thus he answers something I said about his sonnet for our dear 
Gabriel : " But I must tell you how very truly glad I am that you 
should care for my Memorial Sonnet. I wish it were worthier of the 
subject ; but it has at least the one merit of heartfelt (and I venture 
to hope evident) sincerity." 



To Lucy Rossetti, Manchester. 

[I was now preparing for the publication of a book (which did not 
get actually published until 1895) of Dante Rossetti's Family-letters ; 
and Christina had undertaken to copy out such letters as had been 
addressed to our mother. — Mr. Dodgson was the " Lewis Carroll " of 
Alice in Wojiderland. He was an expert photographer.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[Atttitmn 1882.J 

My dear Lucy, 

We cannot hear from William of your Father's being ill, 
without my writing to express my Mother's and my own affectionate 
sympathy ... I am working away at copying Mamma's contingent 
of Gabriel's letters — such good old letters some of them, so loving — 
and some so funny. It is a sad task, though one I like to perform. 
Mr. Dodgson has not sent me those photographs from Gabriel's 
drawings I was hoping to receive : but perhaps they may appear yet. 



122 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

He recollected to send me up a promised ghost-story, and I hope 
does not doubt which prospect I care most for. 

We have been reading Mr. Caine's memoir. Considering the 
circumstances under which his experiences occurred, I think it may 
fairly be pronounced neither unkind nor unfriendly ; but I hope some 
day to see the same and a wider field traversed by some friend of 
older standing and consequently of far warmer affection towards his 
hero ; who, whatever he was or was not, was lovable. 



To William Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W. C. 

[7 December 1882.] 

My dear William, 

. . . Our loves to Lucy and to the youngsters. We hope 
little Mary holds her own, and smaller Michael has regained lost 
ground. But this cold may try twins, odd babies, and every grade of 
elder. 

I have had a narrow escape of seeing my birthday memorialized 
in the Athenceum by a sonnet from Mr. Sharp. He tells me he can 
explain the reason of its non-appearance ; but in my secret soul I 
suspect that reason of being the cogent one that it is not a good 
sonnet. Great however is its good-will, and I feel friendly in 
proportion. 

I heard from Mr. Cayley (this morning) that he has returned 
with a " sore foot " from Cambridge : gout, I fear ; but he does not 
call it so. However, he seems hopeful of soon getting out again. 
I hope he will not emerge rashly and prematurely. . . . 



From Lady Mount-Temple. 

[The reference here to Burlington House has to do with the exhibi- 
tion in that building, the galleries of the Royal Academy, of a large 
collection of works by Dante Rossetti. — Christina felt very much 
drawn to Lady Mount-Temple, whom, however, she only saw once 
or twice. Circumstances did not make it manageable for either herself 
or our mother to respond to the invitation to go to Broadlands.] 



i883— TO CAYLEY 123 

Babbacombecliff, Torquay. 

3 1 January [ 1 883]. 

My dear Miss Rossetti, 

I often think of you and your grave beautiful mother, as 
I saw you that evening. 

I have gone through much since, of anguish and joy — for my 
husband has been very ill — and is (d.g.) restored. I hope you both 
are not suffering much from this very wet season. The only light 
in London seems, from all I hear, to ray out in Burlington House. 

I hope you are satisfied and cheered by the enthusiasm kindled 
by his unique genius. Of course I have not been there yet. 
Next month I hope to be among those glories. 

Mrs. Sumner is just come to Torquay. She looked in on us 
this morning, and she was radiant from them — having been there 
yesterday ; and yet sad too, for she felt them all too sacred for 
ordinary eyes, and shrank for his sake from the publicity, till she 
remembered that he would not mind it now. 

Another friend, fresh from Italy, told us the other day not even 
the masterpieces of the old world had affected her so solemnly and 
tenderly, and we rejoiced together in the thought of the triune 
angels, — the mighty Michael, the beautiful Raphael, and our 
Messenger of promise. While I write about the impressions made 
on my friends, I look at a letter written to me by Mrs. Russell 
Gurney, and I cannot resist sending it to you. It pleased me so 
much. Do not take the trouble of returning it. 

We stay here, all being well, for another fortnight, and then, 
after a few days in town, return to Broadlands. We shall be 
there I hope till Easter, and, if you and your mother could come 
and spend a few quiet Lent days with us, how glad we should be. 

Wishing you both (rather late in the day) the blessing of peace 
and heavenly comfort this year and ever, &c. . . . 

To Charles Cayley. 

[I have not any clear knowledge as to the year when this letter was 
written, but surmise 1883 as not unlikely. It is apparent that Cayley 
had been writing to Christina, expressing the opinion that he probably 



124 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

might not live long (in fact he died in December 1883), and offering 
to make Christina his literary executrix : this proposal he carried out. 
Her statement that, at an earlier date in their intercourse, she 
" deserved severity at her own hands," appears to me to imply that 
her demeanor to Cayley had tended to encourage him to make her 
a proposal of marriage which, when made, she saw fit to decline. 
Her rather overstrained feeling of obligation to me, resulting in 
a bequest of ^2000, was in the fullest sense her own affair, not 
mine. Ultimately she left me her universal legatee, but did not fail 
to insert in her will the separate bequest here named. Her ob- 
servation that Cayley could probably trace a "train of thought" 
guiding her statements means, I take it, that, if she should have 
anything further to bequeath, beyond the ;i^20oo, a substantial 
proportion, if not the whole, would go to Cayley himself. — " My 
Dante article " must have been either a paper called Dante an English 
Classic, relating chiefly to Cayley 's translation of the Conwiedia, 
or else (less probably) one entitled Dante illustrated out of his own 
Poem : both of these were published in some magazine or other. — 
This letter must have been found by me among Christina's papers 
after her death. It came back into her own hands as shown in 
the letter of 7 December 1883 from Miss Sophie Cayley.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

26 February [? 18S3]. 

My dear old Friend, 

I will not dwell too much on the sad possibility you hint 
to me, but rather will put forward — as I sincerely can — the appar- 
ently at least equal probability that I may become the leader and 
not the follower along that path. Nor will I care what are the steps 
so long as the goal is good. Nor will I despair of the good goal for 
either of us. Meanwhile I hope you have shaken off the neuralgia, 
of which I also well know the pain, and that many happy hours with 
the Leifchilds and other valued intimates remain in store for you. 

But, all else assumed as inevitable, I should value though I should 
not need a memorial. And three of the translations would be very 
dear : watching over them, I might in a measure nurse your name 
and fame. Yet, if you think any of your family could feel hurt, do 
not do it : very likely there was a moment when — and no wonder — 
those who loved you best thought very severely of me, and indeed 



i883— FROM SWINBURNE 125 

I deserved severity at my own hands, — I never seemed to get much 
at yours. And some trifle that you had been fond of and perhaps 
had used would be precious to me. 

Now let us suppose the reverse position, and let me explain my 
own plans. If my dearest Mother outlives me, everything I have (a 
mere trifle in all) goes to her : perhaps you may recollect my telling 
you that even now I am not so much as independent, so little indeed 
have I. Beyond this immediate vista, — William made me a home 
for so many years that (especially now that he has a young family) I 
am inclined to rate the money-portion of my debt to him at (say) 
;^ioo a year for 20 years : here at once is ^^2000 ! and far enough 
am I from possessing such a sum. Not that William puts forward 
any such view, but / entertain it all by myself. So, to sum up, you 
see I am an indefinite distance off from having much at my pure 
disposal. If I live long enough, that is if I survive certain members 
of my family, I believe I shall be amply provided for : but this is no 
contingency to count upon. I dare say you will trace, though I 
certainly have not stated, what sort of train of thought set me upon 
saying all this. 

I hope you will enjoy the Ashburnham MSS. If I had a little 
more energy I might seek to enjoy them too, but that seems too 
enterprising a possibility. My Dante article proceeds at the pace of 
a lag-last snail ; perhaps it will reach the printing-office some day. A 
thousand thanks for the permission I craved. 

From Algernon Swinburne. 

[This letter accompanied two copies of Swinburne's volume, A 
Century of Roundels. The dedication, itself a roundel, is to 
Christina.] 

THE PINES, PUTNEY HILL, S.W. 

T June 1883. 
Dear Miss Rossetti, 

Here is the Uttle book to which you have been so kind. 
As in duty bound, I send you the first copy I receive of it — or rather 
the two first copies, as two have been sent together, and I hope your 
mother will do me the favour to accept one of them for the sake of 
the dedication. 



126 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

If the references to Dante and Farinata a propos of caverns in 
Guernsey seem strange or far-fetched to you, I wish you — as a 
poetess, and his country-woman — would go and see that wonderful 
sight for yourself, which I have so faintly tried to indicate. It is 
amazing to me that so few English folk will trouble themselves to 
make so short a run to see within their own territory landscapes and 
prospects to which I really know no parallel — not even in the High- 
lands, the Apennines, or the Pyrenees — for splendour and variety of 
sublimity and beauty. Nowhere else, that I ever saw or heard of, is 
there such a sea for background to such shores — or such land for 
background to such seas — as in Bark and Guernsey. Watts said of 
the latter, when we were roaming over it last year — " I did not think 
there was such an island as this in the world ! " It has literally every 
kind of loveliness and grandeur packed into it — you step as it were 
out of the Hebrides into Tuscany in a few miles' walk — or you pass 
from the valleys of the Spey or the ravine of the Findhorn straight 
into Valdarno or Valdelsa. And, if you don't believe me on trust, 
all I can say is, do go and see, and give these almost unknown 
beauties a word of song — as I have tried to do. 



To William Rossetti, Hythe. 

[This letter relates to the project that Christina should write, for the 
Eminent Women series, a memoir of Mrs. Radcliffe, the authoress of 
The Mysteries of Udolpho, &c. She was more than willing to do it ; 
but, after Mr. John Cordy Jeaffreson and other sources of information 
had been consulted, she judged that the facts known would not fill out 
a volume, and she abandoned the attempt. — Her allusion to her 
" girth " indicates that she was at this time not a little fat. So she 
was often, but not always, in her closing years.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

2^ June 1883. 

Mv DEAR William, 

Thankyou both for the letter I return and for the other you 
forwarded. Mr. Jeaffreson is not encouraging : I am belabouring 
poor Ingram, and between us all nothing whatsoever have I done. I 
Radcliffized the other day at the Museum, and perceive that the best 



i883— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 127 

resource is Talfourd after all, unless it be a quotation made by Walter 
Scott. I doubt if the Memoir is feasible. . . . 

To-day is perfect summer here, and I hope is so at Hythe also. 
May you all thrive, and especially may Lucy hit the happy mean 
between her actual girth and mine ! 1 1 But I recommend her to 
stay as she is, rather than the full alternative. 

I met Mr. Caine the other day at the Museum, looking all the 
better for country-quarters. He seems busy, so I hope he gets on. 

You may think I have not much news for you when this is a 
sample. 



To William Rossetti. 

CHURCH HILL, BIRCHL\GTON-ON-SEA. 

lejicly 1883. 

My dear William, 

I have got so foggy as to your movements that I send this 
to Endsleigh Gns, Mamma, with all love to you, was very glad to 
get a letter from you ; and now she is wishing to bring matters to 
some practical issue as concerns the dear grave. If the stone and 
also 2 windows are contemplated, her preference would be to under- 
take tile wiioie of one window, selecting that one which looks most 
directly upon the grave, and giving the commission from herself to 
Mr. Shields. She would like to settle this matter while we are here, 
and so are at hand to consult with Mr. Alcock. Will you, please, 
as soon as you conveniently can, let her know that her acting as she 
proposes will not clash with any scheme of yours, and then without 
further delay we can open business with Mr. Shields. The more 
details you can give us the better as to design of gravestone &c. 

Going to call on Mrs. Seddon this afternoon, I passed by the old 
familiar Bungalow and stood gazing into its garden. Dr. and Mrs. 
Harris have called on us ; and Mrs, Seddon reports that Dr. Harris 
much likes our Mother; and she seems also aware of her being 
Hked more at large, in which impression I confirmed her. I, like 
you, wish tiiese doorsteps could be got rid of, — but, all deductions 
made from an ideal standard, we yet find ourselves comfortably 
housed. Mr. Alcock has called on us with his agreeable wife. 



128 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

but not as yet Mr. Martin, whom I should Hke to shake hands with 
again. 

I send you an article on Gabriel sent me from America. Also a 
photo, of Rossetti Bungaloxv which pray accept if you have not one 
already. The Church too has been photographed from a viewpoint 
which would show the grave but for the outer wall of the church- 
yard ; this stands too high to admit of the little mound being seen, 
though the porch is visible. . . . 

From William Rossetti. 

[This letter shows what, in the summer of 18S3, was proposed with 
regard to some memorial to Dante Rossetti at Birchington, The 
upshot was that Madox Brown designed the tombstone, an Irish 
cross, for which Christina and I jointly paid ; and that Mr. Shields 
designed the two stained-glass lights of one window, for which our 
mother paid. Nothing was done beyond this.] 

2 SALTWOOD GARDENS, HYTHE. 

iZJidy 1883. 

Dear Christina, 

When I was at Birchington I talked a goodish deal to Seddon 
about the gravestone and windows. The idea then was that I would 
undertake the whole affair of the gravestone ; and that Seddon, along 
with Shields and other admirers of Gabriel, would raise funds for 
filling with stained glass the 2 windows of 2 lights each (whole or 
part thereof) which come near the grave. Shields would undertake 
to make the design for one light; Brown and Jones would be invited 
to undertake two others ; for the 4th I heard nothing particular 
suggested. You were to be consulted as to the subjects for all 4 
lights. Seddon, as I gathered, would provide for the actual supply 
of glass &c. 

As to the gravestone my idea had from the first been to ask Brown 
to furnish a design generally resembling (but not identical with) 
the stone over Nolly's grave. Some uncertainties (not worth detail- 
ing) have arisen about this. I shall now however get the point 
settled. If B. should not fall in with my views, I shall ask Seddon 
to see about making and carrying out a design — which would 
probably be of a simple but solid and very decorous kind. The B. 



i883— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 129 

project might I fancy cost from ^i^^o to ^4^ : the S. project from 
£70 to ^100. 

You will perceive that the outline of this scheme is that the grave- 
stone should be entirely the affair of myself (or of myself and family, 
as might be arranged infer nos) ; while the windows would be entirely 
the affair of admirers of G's genius (personal friends of course 
included) who would subscribe the needed funds. 

Mamma's idea of commissioning one window (or perhaps one light 
in a window is rather meant) would mar the symmetry of this scheme : 
but I don't see that that is of the slightest consequence if Mamma 
prefers this course to any other. It seems however that she should 
explain to Seddon what she intends, especially as it affects Shields, 
with whom Seddon himself would otherwise be concerting his 
plans. . . . 

Ellis has sent me ;^97. 4. as the royalty on G's books (chiefly the 
Poems vol.) for last 6 mos. — Very large this amount, I think. 



To William Rossetti, Hytlie. 

CHURCH HILL, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEi^. 

I9jti!y 1883. 

Mv DEAR William, 

. . . Amongst your all-welcome letters this is a very wel- 
come one. Please read first and post afterwards the enclosed to Mr. 
Shields, which we hope will meet with your sympathetic approval. 
If our Mother is so fortunate as thus to secure her wish, / hope to 
concur (in a modest degree suited to my resources) in the stone. 
One window will remain for remoter friends and admirers, and I hope 
the result of triple effort will be beautiful. 

We have been making acquaintance with Mrs. John Seddon and 
like her very much ... I have made an ivy-wreath, and we are 
carrying it to the grave this morning . . . 



To William Rossetti, Hythe. 

[The term "your Italian" means the romance by Mrs. Radcliffe 
entitled The Italian, of which I possess a copy.] 
9 



I30 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

CHURCH HILL, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

21 July 1883. 

My dear William, ' 

Very welcome was your card to Mamma whom it assured 
of your harmonious accord with her plan. Her love to you. On 
Saturday Mr. Seddon called with his pretty elder daughter — the 
younger is beautiful perhaps rather than pretty — and we then talked 
about all the plans; and he fell in with Mamma's views, and will him- 
self treat with Mr. Shields on that basis. He told us what his own 
plan for the stone is, and this greatly attracts Mamma : I too admire 
it, and shall Hke to concur in a small way : I think I can promise 
myself to find ;^io for the purpose, but fear that will be my humble 
limit. . . . 

A meagre contingent of " Radcliffe " material has reached me 
through the obliging trouble-taking of a Mr. Sketchley of the South 
Kensington department — that cannot be right : " Science and Art " 
perhaps. So my Athenceum letter has produced one useful response, 
besides one or two useless ones : but, all told, I doubt if bulk will 
anyhow suffice. At present Mr. Ingram and I alike are observing a 
dignified silence. Of course your Italian is safe at your house 
where I left it. . . . 

Of course, whichever design is adopted by you for the gravestone, 
I hope equally to concur. — That is, as you say, a good " royalty " 
from EUis. 

To William Rossetti, London. 

[Mrs. O'Shaughnessy was the mother of the poet Arthur O'Shaugh- 
nessy, who died in 1881. Mr. Deacon was related to him — I think 
a cousin. — The Memoir of Emily Bronte was the work of Miss 
Robinson (Madame Duclaux) in the Eminent Women series.] 

CHURCH HILL, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

Zojuly 1883. 

My dear William, 

. . . Mamma sends you invariable love. She wishes me to 
express to you her great desire that the monument to Gabriel may 
include a cross : we do not know what the erection to Nolly is like. 



i883— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 131 

Would it be possible — and would it not, her wish taken into account, 
be preferable — to substitute for the Nolly design a reproduction of 
Mr. Brown's beautiful memorial of his first wife? this would con- 
ciliate both you and our Mother, equally doing honour to Mr. Brown's 
tried and faithful friendship for Gabriel and near connexion with all 
of us. If such a plan were hampered by being more costly than the 
other, I would do my {t'ery) little best by contributing j[^\^ instead 
of ;^io, — I think I can engage for so much. . . . 

A Mr. and Mrs. Deacon made themselves known to me one 
morning, and yesterday a maternal Mrs. Deacon with Mrs. O'Shaugh- 
nessy declared themselves. Mr. Deacon is a clergyman at Milton (?), 
Oxfordsh. . . . 

Saturday was so cold part of the day that we had a fire. Yesterday 
(Sunday) was sunny summer. To-day warmth continues in modera- 
tion. Except perhaps mountain-air, I don't know that I ever was in 
what seemed to me air more salubrious than this. But we have a 
great deal of cold weather. 

I suspect my Athenceum manifesto has borne its last meagre fruit, 
for no Radcliffeana more come to hand. If this be all, I foresee col- 
lapse. I am reading with interest tlie Memoir of Emily Bronte : but 
does it strike you as being in the main a memoir of Emily ? 



To William Rossetti. 

[The lectures by Ruskin, here referred to, contained some matter 
derogatory to Dante Rossetti's work as a painter : see Christina's 
further letter of 15 August.] 



CHURCH HILL, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA, 

6 August 1883. 
My dear William, 

. . . Our dearest Mother sends you her evergreen love. On 
no account will she supersede you as to the monument design, though 
you have her maternal thanks for acceding to her wish for a cross, — 
be the cross Irish or any other, so long as a cross it is, she will rest 
contented. Mamma and I quite feel for you as to the disagreeable 
of modifying Mr. Brown's drawing so late in the day. Would it be 



132 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

out of the question to introduce a cross simply in has relief on the 
headstone as it stands ? in addition to the foliage you speak of, I 
mean, or perhaps in substitution for some detail of it. But pray 
believe that in venturing such an ignorant suggestion I am only trying 
to make matters easy, pleasant, manageable ; I am not attempting to 
meddle where you have and I have not rights. Whatever monument 
is erected, I hope you will not reject jQio or ^15 as my contribution 
towards honouring our dear brother's memory. 

The Shieldses came down last week, and Mr. S. we see daily : he 
and wife appear better already, but it was gravely desirable for both 
that they should get better. To-day he was in church with Mr. 
Seddon, going into our business practically. He seems very wishful 
to select a felicitous subject for the window, but not yet to have 
lighted upon one — or rather upon hvo, one for each light — quite to 
his own satisfaction : so as yet I cannot announce all that impends. 
I put fresh roses on the grave this morning. . . . 

Have you seen the 2 Art Lectures lately given by Ruskin at 
Oxford? Mrs. Seddon has lent them us. Mamma is reading them, 
and I mean to do so, but already I know enough of their contents to 
feel not a little wonder and dislike. . . . 



From William Rossetti. 

5 ENDSLEIGH GARDENS, N.W. 

10 Atigust 1883. 

Dearest Mamma and Christina, 

This letter is intended more particularly for Mamma's atten- 
tion, but for convenience sake I shall proceed as if I were simply 
addressing Christina. 

It appears to me that it is not yet quite clear to you that I should 
WISH Mamma to undertake the work of giving orders for a cross. In 
deference to her feelings I assent — and cheerfully assent — to the idea 
of introducing a cross into the monument, in whatever form may be 
agreed upon between Mamma and Brown : but, as my own personal 
opinion does not go with the cross as the most appropriate device, I 
entertain a very decided feeling of reluctance to giving the order for it 
myself; this I should wish Mamma to do (presumably through you), 



i883— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 133 

and the entire direction of the monument would then remain with 
Mamma — my only part in it being the payment of the cost. Please 
to refer back to my former letter, as to the condition of consulting 
Brown. 

Possibly what I previously said about B. and an Irish cross was a 
Uttle misapprehended. The fact then is that I did not in any way 
commission B. to produce a design with a cross : I simply told him 
that Mamma wants a cross, and that his cross-less design had better 
therefore be suspended pending a decision — and he replied that a 
design consisting of an Irish cross might perhaps answer. . . . 

I hardly remember whether I did see or not the 2 Art-lectures by 
Ruskin to which you refer : I think I did at Seddon's glance at a 
sentence or two of them. I forget details. Dare say there is some- 
thing more or less unhandsome about Gabriel : R. seems now to be 
very scattered and uncertain, though of course he pretty often hits 
nails on their heads. . . . 

See Athenceum of 4 Aug. showing that some of Gabriel's works, 
bought at the Christie sale, are now in S. Kensington Museum : I 
rather hope to get round to-morrow and see them. Also something 
about a musical setting of your "Passing away " — your chef d'oeuvre, 
and the finest sacred poem (me judice) in the language. It is sus- 
ceptible of an astonishing range and stress of musical expression 
supposing only the musician to have this at command. 



To William Rossetti. 

CHURCH HILL, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

II August 18S3. 
My dear William, 

Thankyou affectionately for the dear . . . letter of this 
morning. As yours was virtually and primarily to our Mother, so this 
is to all intents and purposes from her. 

There is one superb virtue in which she and you alike shine and 
in which — at least by comparison — I fear I only glimmer, — ^justice. 
She, with unvarying love to you, will not hear of any arrangement 
which either in fact or appearance displaces you from your proper 



134 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

and dominant position as controller of the monument. She there- 
fore absolutely withdraws her late suggestion ; and, enshrining her 
own pious hope in her own window, awaits the monument under 
such an aspect as you assign to it. Therefore do not ask either of us 
to write to F. M. B., for direct from you and from you only will he 
receive instructions. . . . She wrote to you yesterday, and doubtless 
you already have her letter. And I add, as knowing it positively, 
that her secession from the monument-question is according to her 
own absolute and deliberate wish, and creates neither sore nor chill 
in that glowing maternal heart. . . . 

The Shieldses have fairly been hunted out of Birchington by noise : 
we have not, as yet, their address at Margate, but there I hope they 
are housed in comparative silence. Here they were in really distress- 
ingly noisy quarters. . . . 

Thankyou for telling me what greatly pleases me, that you so 
much like "Passing away," which also I rate high among the works 
of that author ! 

Mamma thinks of our remaining here 7 or 8 weeks in all, unless 
Aunt Charlotte's coming home (of which there is a prospect) should 
be so timed as to tempt us back to London a little earlier. The 
longest period contemplated terminates on Sept. 6. This change 
and fine air have revived us both ; so there is no reason of health for 
hastening our return, but rather the contrary. 

To William Rossetti. 

[The "accident on the doorstep "had occurred to our mother 
there were several steps from the street, and at that time no handrail. 
— The mention of Alma-Tadema in connection with a lecture by 
Ruskin is an error : the name should be G. F. Watts. It was rather 
perverse of Ruskin to animadvert upon Dante Rossetti for living 
" in a garret at Blackfriars." As a youthful painter having his way 
to make in the profession, he naturally lived in London ; his chambers 
were not in any sense a garret, but a commodious and rather spacious 
range of second-floor rooms ; and Ruskin himself used to congratu- 
late him upon having a river-view comparable to most things in 
Venice. — The Salterio was one of our father's principal poems ; the 
MS. about Rome, an account of Roman antiquities drawn up at 
some length by him when he was in Rome in 181 3 during some 



i883— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 135 

political complications. I gave this MS. to the Municipality 
of Vasto, my father's natal city, in connection with a centenary cele- 
bration of his birth held there in the spring of 1883. I did not get it 
translated, and it would not have had any chance with any English 
magazine. — Giuseppe Marchesani was a relative of our father, of a 
younger generation : we knew nothing of him until he emerged in 
connection with the Vastese celebration, after which I corresponded 
with him not infrequently, and had every reason to regard him 
with esteem. Filippo Pistrucci produced more than one water- 
colour head of our father. Christina, as a later letter shows, did 
not send the " fright " to Marchesani ; it is, I believe, a head which I 
still possess, and which I have had framed along with another por- 
trait, a water-colour by J. W. Wright. Pistrucci's is the better of the 
two, and does not deserve the epithet " fright."] 



CHURCH HILL, BIRCHINGTOX-ON-SEA. 

15 August 1883. 

My dear William, 

Our Mother sends you her love and regards your letter 
with mingled admiration and affection. I am glad to trust that no 
permanent damage results from what might have proved the very 
serious accident on the doorstep : a degree of bruise remains, but 
that is the least indeed we could have expected. My only wish now 
is that we had at once seen about a handrail, — better late than never. 
Her health is on the whole satisfactory, though naturally subject to 8j 
drawbacks. This beautiful air and quiet change, in combination with 
the heart's-ease of being near Gabriel's grave, seem to have revived 
her. She walks about very well, though certainly the indented cliff- 
edge is not within her radius. Neither, I foresee, will your sluggish 
sister foot it. Yesterday we enjoyed a drive through Westgate into 
Margate. Mr. Shields's move in. search of quiet reminds one of 
Dante's impulse towards a " rovente vetro " for coolness ! We have 
not seen or heard of him since, so can only hope that he feels soothed. 
It is however quite obvious that his Birchington lodgings must have 
been distressingly unquiet, thanks to various provable sources of 
noise. We much wish he could and would so far sit aloof from dis- 
turbance as to be able to put pencil to paper in Mamma's service ; 
but perhaps at this moment he is hard at work, so I need not wax 
ill-natured. 



136 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

The Ruskin Lectures are no longer here, so to my regret I cannot 
refer to them for the exact title. I think they were named in some 
such way as this: "Art Lectures: i. Dante Rossetti and Holman 
Hunt ; 2. Burne Jones and Alma Tadema." Each lecture formed 
one pamphlet. The copy Mrs. Seddon lent us was not her own but 
was lent by some friend. Though the ist alone professes to treat 
of Gabriel, the wind-up of the second re-introduces his name in a 
more agreeable manner than most or perhaps than any of the pre- 
ceding portions. Part is really irritatingly depreciatory, but I can 
well imagine that the lecturer is not now altogether his pristine self. 
From internal evidence it suggests itself that Holman Hunt and 
Burne Jones are certain to possess copies of utterances so gratifying 
to each. But, if for any reason you do not feel disposed to slake 
your curiosity at either source and have none better at hand, I will 
(if you please) try whether I could borrow for you . . . The most 
irritating sentence perhaps of all is one in which Ruskin speaks of 
Gabriel's having cut himself off from the possibility of studying out- 
door nature by living in a '* garret " at Blackfriars ; but even this 
utterance should not, I admit, perturb Christian patience ! He also 
particularizes " Chinese puzzle " details, and foliage (?) like the con- 
tents of a Noah's Ark. Yet the opening of Lecture i. and the close 
of Lecture 2. are affectionate and admiring. . . . 

The old original edition of the Salterio is exhausted. But of the 
later edition, if I am not mistaken, you will find several copies in one 
or other of the boxes or paper-parcels which (at least used to) inhabit 
the same garret as the box of correspondence. At the worst, how- 
ever, doubtless one can be found in our quarters in case of need : I 
feel certain that some do exist. What a dear old M.S. you have 
unearthed about Rome ! Mamma surmises that it was probably a 
ministerial production while Papa headed "Public Instruction" 
under Murat. Would it be worth while translating it into English 
(before it vanishes to Vasto) and trying its fortune somewhere as a 
magazine-article ? — this occurred, this question of the translation, to 
Mamma. 

She and I may perhaps make our way to South Kensington to see 
the beautiful drawings. 

As to Marchesani, Mamma does not feel inclined to enrich him 
with her photograph, and I (chronically) do not possess mine. Yet I 



1883— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 137 

like his letter, poor man, and wish him well. I wonder if he would 
greatly value a fright by Pistrucci of our Father : possibly I might 
bestow it in such a case upon him, but I do not promise. . . . 

Yesterday we drove to Margate, and found it superior to at least 
my expectations. Westgate, on the way, rather pleased me, but did 
not attract Mamma. 

The enclosed represents, and does in some sort misrepresent, 
"love in a mist," a white blossom with green centre and green 
thready widespreading calyx (?), an annual which I do not recollect 
ever to have seen elsewhere. Do you know it ? it charms us both. 
My powers do not suffice to exhibit the free in-all-directions growth 
of the calyx " mist," which instead of lying down like a frill often 
rather envelopes the blossom like a cloud. . . . 

I see I have twice told you we went to Margate — pardon ! 



To Lucy Rossetti, Hythe. 

[" Cathy " (Mrs. Francis Hueffer, half-sister of my wife) had some 
musical training, and it would appear that she was endeavouring — 
but with no eventual success — to impart some of it to our daughter 
OUvia.] 

BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

22 August 1883. 

My DEAR Lucy, 

Your long and interesting letter is very welcome to Mamma 
who thanks you for it with love. ... If ever she hears Olive warble 
forth a sweet soprano melody, it may do something towards supplying 
the defects of her own unmusical daughters. So Cathy cultivates 
graces while you train intellects among your young people : a capital 
exchange. . . . 

I have been seeing more of the Seddon family down here than 
perhaps I ever saw before ; and I incline to like them much, as well 
as to esteem them. In different styles what beautiful girls both the 
daughters are . . . 

I am not fretting over the Ruskiniana, though at the moment I plead 
guilty to having felt annoyed. Yet my resumed philosophic calm is 
not based on a contempt for the writer, as I cannot help admiring 



138 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

much of his work. I hope it is based on something more permanent 
and less discreditable. The Shieldses have vanished from our 
ken. . . . 

To Lucy Rossetti, Hythe. 

[Christina's scrupulosity re-appears in this letter. Apart from 
mere casual fractiousness in days of quasi-infancy, she had really 
never been ill-tempered or exasperating with me, that I can remem- 
ber, and I had no " tale to unfold." Any " irritability " which she 
may have shown while housed along with my wife (summer of 1874 
to autumn of 1876) was hardly to be called irritability : it all de- 
pended upon differences of view as to matters of religion and the 
obligations of life. But Christina was of that self-abnegating temper 
which might have said with King David after he had danced before 
the ark, to the disgust of Queen Michal — " And I will yet be more 
vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight."] 

CHURCH HILL, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

24 \A2lgHSt 1883]. 

My dear Lucy, 

... It is such a triumph for me to attain to philosophic calm 
that, even if that subdued temper is applied by me without common 
sense, "color che sanno" may still congratulate me on some sort of 
improvement ! Ask William, who knew me in my early stormy days : 
he could a tale unfold — though indeed I am sorry to recollect how 
much you yourself have undergone from my irritability, and how 
much there is for you to bury in kind oblivion. I fear you may 
detect me in many an inconsistency, yet I assure you that in theory 
you do not deem consistency more essential than do I. I did not 
discuss Ruskin with the Seddons : it was with Mr. Shields that our 
conversation on that subject took place ; and he, generously on fire, 
thought me (I fear perhaps) a little tepid. 

We have just begun our seventh week here, and entertain no idea 
of exceeding eight weeks in all. I wonder whether you or we will be 
at home first. . . . 

From Miss Sophie Cayley. 

[Christina already knew of Charles Cayley's death before this letter 
reached her. As suggested in the postscript, I wrote a notice 



i883— FROM PROFESSOR CAYLEY 139 

regarding him for The Athenceum, referred to in Christina's letter of 
15 December.] 



4 SOUTH CRESCENT. 

7 December- 1883. 

Dear Miss Rossetti, 

I do not know whether you will have heard — I received a 
telegram yesterday, at 12, from Dr. Pope in this house, saying I had 
better come at once to my brother, — there was little hope. I came by 
the next train ; but found, as I had dreaded all the way, it was only a 
preparation, as people kindly think. They found him dead in his bed, 
and the Doctor says he must have passed away, hours before, in his 
sleep. He looks beautifully calm and peaceful, and he is [in] God's 
all merciful and holy keeping. But it has been a terrible shock. Some 
time ago we were very uneasy about his health, and tried to get him 
to come for a little change and nursing ; but latterly we thought him 
better again, especially while my sister was in town. He has left 
you all his own works that are now at his Publishers', and a large 
writing-desk, in which is an envelope with a letter of yours to him, 
and a ring : there is also a large packet of your letters. Would 
you like them returned? You were I know the friend he valued 
most. 

We intend to have him buried near my mother, at Hastings — the 
day is not quite settled. . . . 

Do you think your brother would write a short notice of Charles 
in any paper he thinks most fitting ? 



From Professor Cayley. 

'CAMBRIDGE. 

9 Decefuber 1883. 

Dear Miss Rossetti, 

I enclose an extract from my brother's will : I am very 
sorry that I did not when I was in London take out from the desk 
the packet addressed to you. The letters are all separated and tied 
up in parcels : I understood from my sister that you wished them to 
be destroyed, and I will of course see this done. 



I40 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

And, in the event of my dying before my dear and kind friend 
Miss Christina Georgiana Rossetti, of 30 Torrington Square, London, 
I bequeath her the remainder of such books as have been pubUshed 
for me by Messrs. Longmans & Co. and which they are in the habit 
of seUing on commission for me, and all sums actually payable to 
me on account of such sales, and all books I shall have in warehouses 
or at the binders of the editions so sold on commission. And the 
said Christina Rossetti is also to have my best writing-desk, and 
any packet that may be lying therein addressed to her, and she shall 
be entitled to reclaim or order to be destroyed any letters of hers 
which may be found among my papers or effects. 

Will dated 3 May 1883. 

To Frederic J. Shields. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

II December 1883. 

Dear Mr. Shields, 

I enclose the inscription as my mother will like it inscribed 
on the window, if there is room for it in full. 

It really is her wish to begin paying the money-part of her debt : 
the friendly part she accepts and owns as priceless. Shall she send 
you ;!^5o or ;!^ioo ? Whichever you prefer at this particular moment, 
she having no choice one way or the other. Anything beyond the 
;^ioo you will draw upon her for when you know the entire sum 
needed. Please let us know which sum she shall send you ; a degree 
of delay will occur in her getting it actually into hand, but no great 
delay we trust. 

We hope you will approve of the inscription : both she and I 
favour simple prose rather than rhyme; and she wants to express 
that it is his Mother who erects the memorial, this being sufficiently 
conveyed by "my dear son." 

Pray remember us warmly to your wife, to whom with yourself we 
wish all blessings of the approaching Christmas Feast ; nor will we 
shut your stray lamb out of our good will and good auguries. . . . 

Don't fancy the delay will be long — perhaps a week or so, but we 
never quite know ourselves from the nature of the temporary 
investment. 



i883— FROM SHIELDS 141 

To William RorsETTi. 

[15 December 1883.] 

My dear William, 

Please tell Lucy with my love how gratefully I am feeling 
her sisterly kindness. 

Mamma and I are delighting — what a word ! — in your article. 
She thinks it one of the best of the kind, if not the best, she ever 
read. / cannot write about it. 

You said of old how mistakes beset these records : — the date was 
the 5-6th. 

^ From Frederic Shields. 

[In the first instance Mr. Shields intended to use, as the subject of 
one of the lights in the stained-glass window at Birchington, the 
design by Dante Rossetti of The Magdalene at the door of Simon 
the Pharisee : hence his allusion to " the Magdalen's dress." The 
Vicar of Birchington did not wholly like this selection : and another 
of Rossetti's designs, The Passover in the Holy Family, was sub- 
stituted.] 

7 LODGE PLACE, N.W. 

16 December 1883. 

Dear Miss Rossetti, 

I have been steadily working at the window since seeing you 
last — and the ornamental border of the whole, with the monogram 
and its rose-supports, are now designed. The Magdalen's dress has 
received its pattern, and all seems now filling up into complete 
harmony. 

Moreover the inscription, which I feared too long when it arrived, 
has actually found full insertion, and this will please Mrs. Rossetti 
to know. I have prepared the lead-lines also, and all is in 
readiness to set the stained-glass people at work, if they would 
now begin — which they will not till the Christmas holidays are 
past. 

I will not longer put restraint on your dear Mother's good will 
to send so much as the smaller sum of ^^50 — but it is premature 



142 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

to think of sending more till much further advanced, and I am very 
anxious to keep the cost within the original estimate. 

Opening yesterday's Athenceum, I was startled into sudden distress 
by the obituary notice, from your brother's pen, of Mr. Cayley's 
unexpected death. His gentleness and harmless absent manners 
had won my love, as much as his work had my admiration. 

Truly does William say — " We shall not look upon his like." 

His face was always beautiful to me — one I liked to dwell upon. 
Here I shall see it no more. 

From you, good wishes are prayers and blessings, and we thank 
you both for them, reciprocating them affectionately for your own 
happiness at Christmas . . . 



To William Rossetti. 

[It would appear, but I do not recollect any details, that I had 
proposed to Christina that a subscription might be got up for 
re-issuing some portion of Cayley's writings or translations. This 
was not actually done.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

17 December 1883. 

My dear William, 

Having to write, I return Mr. Shields's letter which I like 
truly. It happens I heard from him this morning about the window, 
and then he expressed himself to me as sympathetically : the meeting 
he alludes to I had been told of by my dearest Friend. 

As to the books, be sure I shall subscribe if that comes to pass. 
But at this moment I think you had better wait, for {not the copyrights 
but) the remainders of the translation-editions on sale have been 
left to me, and I suppose Longmans will communicate with me 
some day. . . . 

You certainly ought to know this now ; as, if you write on the 
subject of your scheme to Profr. Cayley — evidently, though I have 
not been actually told so, the executor — all might get into a con- 
fusion between you, unless you are aware of this circumstance. 
Don't think I have been keeping it to myself of unkind purpose, — 
but all is what it is, and no other aspect is of much moment. 




Charles Bagot Cayley. 

From a Photograph, c. 1866. 

To face p. 142. 



1884— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 143 

Thankyou for the offered Athenccum, and still more for the 
aimed-at correction : I am sorry I was the misleader. . . . 

A beautiful desk has been left me too, and Arthur Cayley brought 
it me himself the other evening. 



To William Rossetti. 

[" Not an aquila " (eagle) : this was a wonted expression of our 
father when he meant to imply that some one was the reverse of 
sharp-witted. — " Mr. something Ford " must have been Mr. Onslow 
Ford : I am not aware that his acquaintanceship with Christina 
proceeded any further. — Mr. John Walker, then quite a young man, 
has written various works in verse and prose under the name of 
Roland Thirlmere : he was a strong admirer of Christina's poetry. — 
Mrs. Isabella Pietrocola-Rossetti was now about to re-marry with 
Mr. Lionel Cole, a connection of Lord Congleton.— The " ivory of 
a nestling " was a choice trifle of Japanese art which I (or possibly my 
brother) had given to Christina years previously.] 



6 STATION ROAD, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

28 August 1884. 

My DEAR William, 

Our Mother sends you her old-established love : as you are 
en garcon we do not salute wife and children. We think we may be 
very fairly comfortable here, and hope to remain where we are until 
our return home. Mrs. Gardner, our landlady, seems an obliging 
well-meaning young woman, although not an aquila. No children, and 
a judicious husband who makes no show : a small farmer and carrier, 
I am told. 

Think of our feelings at the station, — Mamma tired, and no cab ! 
Happily on the platform was a clergyman, a Mr. Deacon whose 
acquaintance we made last year down here : he came forward, took 
us in tow, helped Mamma along, carried our j" umbrellas and 
parasols, and, having got us to our lodgings, crowned courtesy 
by not coming in. Next morning he reappeared, before quitting 
Birchington the same day : and a little later re-appeared with his 
wife and 2 nice little baby boys to say how do you do and good- 
bye. Utilizing the flying moment he (I permitting) introduced to 



144 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

me a Mr. something Ford, a sculptor, who with his family lodges 
I believe next door, or at any rate close by. Do you know aught 
of a Mr. anything Ford? Mr. Deacon profoundly believes in his 
talent ; and I hope it exists, as he has promised me a photo, 
from a work of his representing a dirge (?) tributary to the talent 
of Englishmen, and I dare say including in intention Gabriel, of 
whom he is an outspoken admirer. 

We have seen the Cross, very fine in our Mother's eyes and in 
mine ; and I see that Mr. Alcock, with whom we fell in, perceives 
its beauty. This I am glad of. The grave is not covered with 
roses or trellis or aught else, but I see with pleasure one of the 
original little shrubs (doubtless) standing where it stood. Also that 
unaccounted-for cross of artificial white flowers remains lying as it 
lay. The afternoon brought me a boxfull of heather from Mr. John 
Walker, so this I made up partly in a cross, strewing other sprays 
of blossom ; and then the whole grave looked cared for and pretty 
for the moment. 

Full of other subjects when you called, we quite forgot to speak 
of Isabella. Amazed we were ! If you can, please tell something 
about " Lord Congleton," whom I fail to find in an antiquated 
Peerage where I rummaged. ... I wrote to her . . . hearty 
good wishes to her and hers ; and I sent her as a little wedding- 
gift a charming ivory of a nestling I had kept these many 
years. . . . 

We have a pretty sitting-room paper which Mamma pronounces a 
" Morris." 

To William Rossetti. 

[My daughter Helen, then in her fifth year, had written a letter to 
me, found acceptable by my mother in virtue of its naivete : it will 
be seen quoted in my Appendix, Diary of Frances Rossetti. Mr. 
Bristow was the custodian of the churchyard at Birchington. — Achille 
Pietrocola, a maternal relative of my father, and one of our then 
Vastese correspondents, had had an idea of publishing some uncul- 
tured verses, not destitute of native humour and faculty, by an elder 
brother of my father, Antonio Rossetti : he had consulted myself 
and some others, and now acquiesced in the opinion that it would be 
better to drop the project.] 




The Gravk-i kkss uf Dante Rossetti. 
Designed by Ford Madox Brown, 1883. 



\_To face p. 144. 



1884— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 145 

6 STATION ROAD, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

2 September 1884. 
My DEAR William, 

Helen's letter is charming, — our Mother does not think so 
more genuinely than do I : the kitten is inimitable. Here it is back 
again, but not without my first copying it into the maternal diary. 
Thank you too for Isabella : . . . I quite see that the marriage is 
under all circumstances a brilliant one. 

I propose to call on Mr. Bristow this afternoon and (if I can) 
put him into direct communication with you, first of all explaining 
why at the time your orders could not be carried out. It seems that 
just then the long-continued drought rendered the ground intractable 
for your purpose. Now that rain has fallen in some quantity and in 
repeated downcomes perhaps something may be feasible. Supposing 
the roses and trellis for some reason relinquished, I think violets 
would have this plea, that a golden violet was (was it not ?) a 
Provencal prize for poetry. Perhaps, though, you would think this 
arrogant : / surmise that no one besides ourselves might scent the 
allusion. ... 

Achille tells me in so many words that he will suppress Uncle 
Antonio's poems. I send you his letter, which you need not return 
hither. . . . 

Mamma sends you much love. Her positive wish is that the 
beloved grave should be completed as you think best. How fine 
the Cross looks : I wrote to Mr. Brown yesterday on purpose to 
express Mamma's and my own admiration and satisfaction. . . . 

I have just received the letter I enclose from Isabella. I like it 
very much. ... 

To William Rossetti. 

[The observation, " I cannot remember that my portrait ever was 
engraved," arises out of some question which had been raised as 
to a portrait in an American edition of Christina's poems. The 
" little early water-colour " now belongs to my daughter Olivia 
Agresti in Rome. "The amazing object achieved later," also by 
Filippo Pistrucci, is in my possession, representing — or rather totally 
misrepresenting — Christina at some such age as eleven.] 
10 



146 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

6 STATION ROAD, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

3 September 1884. 

My dear William, 

... I called on Bristow, who will write straight to yourself. 
He is quite prepared to do what you require, and seems fully to 
understand your order : only it appears that not till November can 
we count upon setting roses. I think the effect, at the blooming 
season, will be charming indeed if all prospers. Have you mentally 
selected the sort of rose ? I recollect Gabriel's paramount love of 
the wild rose, and fancy that either this, or else the exquisite sweet 
brier which bears a very similar flower, could not be excelled for the 
purpose. . . . 

The Fords have left Birchington : I find they frequent the 
Gosses. . . . 

I cannot remember that my portrait ever was engraved, unless 
one reckons Scotus's etching (?) from Pistrucci's pretty little early 
watercolour, — the one Gabriel liked, not the amazing object achieved 
later. 

Bristow told us of the amount of visiting dear G's grave which 
has taken place, one lady " fainting." He seemed quite impressed by 
the attention shown. 

To William Rossetti. 

[This letter (as may readily be perceived) was consequent upon 
my having announced that my youngest daughter Mary was attacked 
by scarlet fever ; and that, in order to avoid infection for the other 
children, I was proposing to stay for a while with some of them at 
No. 30 Torrington Square. I did so, along with Olivia and Helen — 
not Arthur. — ^^ Avra pm spirito di tutti" (she will be the cleverest 
of the set) is what our grandfather Polidori had said of Christina 
herself in very early days.] 

6 STATION ROAD, BIRCHINGTON-ON-SEA. 

23 September 1884. 

Mv DEAR William, 

... It is only your letter of this morning which tells us that 
darling little Mary positively has scarlet fever, but happily adding 
the good news that the crisis has passed favourably. I hope Lucy's 



1884— FROM SWINBURNE 147 

throat will recover without further mischief, as also Arthur's. We 
are finding Birchington air as suitable as heretofore. 

About your staying with Olive, Arthur, and Helen, in Torrington 
Square, nothing would in itself please us anything like so well. The 
sole (and this merely contingent) difficulty seems to us to be whether 
your and my very advanced Aunts may find the charge too anxious 
and too much for them altogether. If this is not the case, surely 
the maternal roof is the natural refuge for you and yours. ... I 
shall be much disappointed if you vacate 30. 

Olive has written 2 agreeable notes of thanks to us. Helen (I 
augur in the style of our Grandfather) "avra piu spirito di tutti," 
— allowing, that is, for the inborn preponderance of man over 
woman ! . . . 

From Algernon Swinburne. 

[This letter accompanied a copy of Mr. Swinburne's volume A 
Midsummer Holiday and other Poems. The piece to which he calls 
particular attention is entitled A Ballad of Appeal, to Christina 
G. Rossetti. It begins "Song wakes with every wakening year," 
and craves that Christina would again give " Sweet water from the 
well of song."] 

THE PINES, PUTNEY HILL, S.W. 

17 November 1884. 

Dear Miss Rossetti, 

I hope you will not think I have taken a liberty in address- 
ing you publicly without so much as " with your leave " or " by your 
leave." Your kind acceptance of a previous little offering in metre 
emboldened me to express a wish which all your readers must share, 
and to which I trust you will not always turn a deaf ear — long as it 
seems since you have given us any fresh cause to thank you for a 
fresh gift of such verse as you only can give. It is but very little, of 
all that one would like to say, that can be expressed in so short and 
simple an appeal as that which you will find addressed to you at page 
1 1 2 of the little volume which accompanies this little note : but you 
must allow its sincerity and earnestness to atone for its brevity and 
inadequacy. I wonder if I may venture to hope that you will like 
the seven baby-songs which immediately follow it. 

With kind regards to Mrs. Rossetti, &c. . . . 



148 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To William Rossetti. 



'^< 



[This letter marks a beginning in the decline of vital energy which 
affected our mother's closing year. After returning to London from 
Birchington, in 1884, she did not again leave town for any holiday- 
recruiting. — The notice which I wrote in the Athenceum was on Mr. 
Cordy Jeaffreson's book, The Real Shelley^ 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE. 

[10 Jiaie 1885.] 

My dear William, 

I do not think we can have told you that we have quite 
given up going to Brighton : the prospect proved to be too upsetting, 
so now we are substituting drives (our first taken to-day) for the more 
ambitious outing. To-day we utilized our fly by calling at the Scotts' 
where I had the pleasure of seeing W. B. looking very fair all con- 
sidered ; he now takes and enjoys drives, and speaks cheerfully of 
his own health. Alice Boyd appeared, but Mrs. Scotus was out. 
Mamma — her dear love to you — and I have read with admiration 
your first notice of the " real " Shelley : I wish I were as fair-minded 
as you are, but I must not despair of acquiring as a grace what you 
have as a gift. 

I wanted you to know that here we are lest you should get off 
coming to see us ! ! 



To Lucy Rossetti, Ventnor. 

[The illness, bronchial pneumonia, which gradually led on to 
phthisis and its fatal termination, had begun with my wife in 
February 1885 : thereafter she often had to go to some health- 
resort or other — in the present instance, Ventnor. Miss Tynan 
is the admired authoress in verse and prose, now Mrs. Hinkson. 
Shortly before this date she had begun corresponding with me 
about her first poetic volume, in which I found abundant charm : 
she also called upon Christina, The latter was frequently beset 
by budding bards (not of like rank with Miss Tynan) and their first 
volumes. To make her believe that poetry is good when in fact it is 
only mediocre was by no means an easy task. She had a habit of 



i886— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 149 

acknowledging with thanks a book as soon as received and before 
reading it, so as to save herself the disagreeable alternative of either 
" damning with faint praise " or else attempting a strain of eulogy 
beyond her real beHef.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

II [January] 1886. 

My dear Lucy, 

I felt an impulse to write to you on Saturday, but " Time 
flew " and it remained undone. Now I sit down to respond to your 
last delightful letter. We get fairly good news of you from William, 
whom last we saw on Friday : I hope when he has joined you — 
as he was then planning to do one day this week — you will rejoice 
his heart by coming into fuller bloom before his eyes. I wonder 
whether Miss Tynan told him what she told me, that she preferred 
your portrait to Lizzie's, — and I wonder whether you will think this 
worth telling you ! (I should appreciate it, were it L) Miss Tynan 
is an agreeable young woman enough, and deferential enough to 
puff me up like puff-paste. She has given me a volume of Vagrant 
Verse by her friend Miss Rosa MulhoUand, but I rate higher 
K. T.'s own muse. Sad to say, another unknown has presented me 
with a volume of Sonnets of which (so far as I have waded) the less 
said the better as poetry ; my note of thanks turned out jejune, 
though the spirit is admirable and I found one point to praise. 
Don't you ever publish a volume unless you are quite sure you can 
excel (say) Mr. W. Shakespear ; or if not, at least don't bestow it 
on poor disconcerted me ! a warning to be early and with absolute 
impartiality brought home to Olive, Arthur, Helen, Mary, who 
exhibit alarming tendencies. 

News is not my forte. We potter contentedly on with no very 
marked vicissitudes even of health. We have just read the Memoir 
and Letters of Sara Coleridge (I reading aloud to Mamma), and 
perhaps, if you were at a loss for a book, you might find some of it 
interesting. 

Besides the warning {see ante) please give my love to your four, 
and much more my Mother's with a share for yourself. Aunts 
Charlotte and Eliza send love. . . . 



I50 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To William Rossetti, Ve?itnor. 

[My article upon Butler's prose-translation of Dante's Paradiso 
was in The Athenceum : I need not enter on any of the details referred 
to by Christina. — The " old nurse Stevens " was the mother of a 
female servant in our house in Endsleigh Gardens. She had acted 
as an assistant (not a regular servant) in the house towards 187 1 &c., 
more especially in looking after Christina in her then formidable 
illness,] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

19 [/ammiy] 1886. 

My dear William, 

It was a distinct pleasure to get your letter this morning, 
and a second distinct pleasure this afternoon to read aloud to 
Mamma your admirable review of Butler's Paradiso, lucid, in- 
teresting, and delightfully written. I was perfectly charmed when I 
came upon your reason for reading "Dante" rather than "da te" : 
how Maria would have enjoyed the suggestion. Good too is the 
" Marsyas " subtilty ; and perhaps it tones down somewhat the disgust 
of the myth, by inviting us to think of the catastrophe not as a 
vengeance after the contest but as a strong way of announcing that 
M. was fairly rapt out of himself and surrendered all insane rivalry. 
For I do think the original myth very horrid. . . . 

The weather you describe is glorious for January. Here we are 
less flourishing, though to-day I took a good cold dry and for me 
rather long walk. My errand was to see my dear old nurse Stevens 
who is ill and very aged and weak now, and to take her a present 
from Mamma. Of course, she was much besides being my nurse ; 
but she is always that to me because she was so kind in my great 
illness. . . . 

Our dearest Mother continues on the whole much as when last I 
wrote. Day after day the cold detains her indoors, but we 
trot a little about the drawing-room, which is better than 
nothing. . . . 

It is getting towards 10 o'clock, my latest ordinary bedtime. . . 



i886— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 151 



To Lucy Rossetti, Venttior. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[ 1 886 — ? January. ] 

My dear Lucy, 

I hope when this reaches you my dear Olive and Mary 
will be better or well, and Arthur and Helen quite off the sick 
hst. . . . 

Mamma and our Aunts unite with me in love to you and the 
children, and especially to our old crony William. I wonder whether 
he will bring home any marine trophies from what I fancy a good 
shore for object-hunting. Do any of his children inherit his and my 
taste for such quests ? To this day I think I could plod indefinitely 
along shingle with my eyes pretty well glued to the ground. . . . 

To Lucy Rossetti, Ventnor. 

[The opening of this letter refers to a raffle which was being got 
up by Madox Brown for the benefit of the widow and daughter of 
an old friend of his, Daniel Casey. This was a painter whom Brown 
had known in Paris at some such remote date as 1843 — ^ Frenchman 
of Irish extraction.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[16 February 1886.] 

My dear Lucy, 

Thank you very truly for sending me a notice which has 
set me hankering after a guinea ticket, — but sad and sober sense 
dictates that such expensive luxuries are not for me just now. Much 
more important than the chance of Mr. Casey's or even of your 
Father's work would be the putting myself into sympathy with that 
same kind Father of yours and securing a share in his good deed : 
but pray believe in my bodiless sympathy and good will for the 
widow and daughter. We poets (!) judging by myself are not an 
opulent race. . . . 

I am heartily glad you have not been in London this winter, which 
has been severe and trying, though for the present frost has vanished. 



152 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

It is just as well too that you escaped the alarm of the riots, which 
were serious enough as they were, and alarmed one lest they should 
become yet more so. But, however one may deplore lawlessness, 
it is heart-sickening to think of the terrible want of work and want 
of all things at our very doors, — we so comfortable. Emigration 
is the only adequate remedy which presents itself to my imagination : 
and that, of course, may leave the mother country to die of inanition 
a stage further on : yet no one can call upon people to starve to-day 
lest England should prove powerless to hold her own to-morrow. 
You see, my politics are not very intricate. . . . 

I like much the pretty photograph William brought me, and I like 
the looks of your independent and well-placed residence. How fine 
a storm would be from your windows : yet one has no heart to wish 
for a storm whilst " men must work and women must weep." 

To-morrow is our dear Maria's birthday, — my irreplaceable sister 
and friend. 



To Lucy Rossetti, Ventnor. 

[Christina here refers to the accident — a fall in her room — which 
began the final illness of our Mother. — *' Olive's Theseus " was a 
small drama (of a kind) written by our small Olive, then aged ten. — 
"Your father's labour of love" is the bust-medallion of Dante 
Rossetti now erected, in connection with a drinking-fountain, in front 
of his house, i6 Cheyne Walk.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

4 March [1886]. 

My dear Lucy, 

Your kind letter would have been answered yesterday, but 
you don't know — or you can very well believe — how hurried and 
engrossed I am. Dearest Mamma suffers much from the prolonged 
pain of her fall, and is very weak : I am full of anxiety, yet Mr. 
Stewart has said nothing to extinguish hope. What I most dread is 
the exhaustion of her strength, so frail at 85 : but all my dread is 
for myself, not (thank God) for her. She sends love to you and 
to a/l four in which I join : dear Olive's Theseus has reached us 
safely, but I am not sure when I can read it aloud to my patient, — 



i886— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 153 

yet very likely she will enjoy listening to it this very day. Ah 
will she ever see your Father's labour of love erected at Chelsea? 
William drops in daily, and is very good and dear and welcome. . . . 



To Lucy Rossetti, Ventnor. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[1886—? 5 March.-\ 

My dear Lucy, 

Love responds to love : accept my dear Mother's and 
mine, and pray pass on their full share to your dear four. 

I am scarcely daring to be hopeful, yet what change has taken 
place appears to be in the direction of recovery. But weakness at 
85, — you can well imagine what are my fears and my feelings. 
And indeed I am not venturing to fix my wishes on either result : I 
see my dearest Mother suffer much, though very patiently ; I could 
not wish her to suffer on indefinitely for my own selfish sake. God's 
Will be done. 

We do hope the painful attack of indisposition you were suffering 
from when you wrote will not be of long duration. . . . 

I had one pleasant glimpse of your Father. 



To Lucy Rossetti, Ventnor. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

2 April [1886]. 

My dear Lucy, 

I have no news about dearest Mamma for you, — doubtless 
William tells you of what little gradual change appears. She does 
not cease to hear about your health with interest, and to think of 
you with every earnest good wish for you and yours. . . . 

Our Nurse Annie Jackson is a perfect friend and treasure in our 
sore need. . . . 

Cathy is truly kind in calling and sending to enquire, and to-day 
in offering help — but alas ! help is not in question : Mrs. Brown 
joins her in kind interest. This morning I received a very pleasant 
letter from your Father in answer to my expression of admiration 
of his " DGR " photograph. 



154 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

Mamma's love to you, for I have just spoken to her. Opposite 
her bed stands a fine bunch of daffodils looking quite cheerful. 

P.S. I was forgetting to tell you that poor Aunt Charlotte is very 
unwell again, and is pretty well laid up. I suppose she took cold, 
colds being so prevalent ; and now her strength is at so low an ebb 
that she too must have a nurse : — and only think ! I have just 
engaged Mrs. Abrey who nursed Gabriel, to come to her this even- 
ing. I tried in vain for an All Saints nurse, but we are particularly 
fortunate in securing our good Mrs. Abrey. Aunt Eliza bears up 
well. 

To Lucy Rossetti, Ventnor. 

[Our Mother died peacefully on 8 April 1886, in the presence of 
Christina and myself. As Dante Gabriel had died on 9 April 1882, 
the interval between the two deaths was exactly four years.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

19 April [1886]. 

Mv DEAR Lucy, 

It has become a different world since last I wrote to you. 
Yet I rejoice that it is I who am left in the grief of this separation, 
and not my dearest Mother. 

Please thank your dear children one by one for each instance of 
their love towards either of us. And my thanks and love to yourself, 
dear Lucy. Grateful thanks too for the pretty wreaths you and they 
sent. Some Italian flowers, sent by one who cannot have known of 
my loss, arrived just in time to strew in the coffin before it was 
closed. I am glad Cathy and Mr. Hueffer were with us in church 
and at the grave. . . . 



To Lucy Rossetti, Ventnor. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

21 April 1886. 

My dear Lucy, 

I am glad to believe that a letter of mine crossed your 
sisterly one, for this is the last moment at which I could wish to 
loosen the ties which remain to me. Love and thanks to you, my 



i886— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 155 

dear Sister, for all you have felt and expressed for us : I can still say 
" us " and look forward to the end of our separation. But please do 
not fancy me bearing this bitter trial so much better than I really am 
bearing it. It has been a comfort to see William, though now I rejoice 
that he is going to have a reviving time at Ventnor. Most brotherly 
he has been, taking trouble in my stead and helping me along. 
I am of course still in the midst of business, as even a very small 
executorship involves anxious effort. As yet I do not know exactly 
what my means are likely to amount to, but I am sure they will 
amply suffice : soon, of course, I expect to have all made out. Did 
William tell you of a conversation we had? — when I said that I 
hoped finally to leave at least as much as ^^2000 to him. I have 
long felt in his debt for all those years when his munificent affection 
provided me with a most ungrudged home, and he and we all think 
that, if we loosely compute this debt as for 20 years at ;!£^ioo a year, 
I shall pay back the money in full ; the love can only be repaid in 
kind, — he, moreover, never till I talked to him viewed it as money- 
indebtedness. Now I particularly want you to know all this, 
because, if I were so unhappy as to lose my dear William, I should 
(so far as I foresee at present) feel that his claim lapses in full to your- 
self or to the children. Please be sure of this, according to my 
present power of foreseeing. Altogether I expect to have a good 
deal more than ^2000, but this is the special sum I propose for the 
given purpose. 

Sympathy has flowed in from very different quarters, and I like to 
see the love and high honour in which my dearest Mother was held. 
High and low have shown kindness. After speaking separately 
to each of my Aunts I find it is the preference of both that I 
should continue to make my home with them, and thus it is 
settled. 

Pray give my love to Olive, Arthur, Helen, Mary, with joy to dear 
Arthur on his recovery, and a birthday kiss to aged Mary : what a 
beautiful thing to be no more than 5 years old ! . . . 

To William Rossetti. 

[I have forgotten the details about All Saints Home and the ;^Soo. 
The affair was evidently connected with my mother's will, and 



156 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

probably, more or less, with Maria, though deceased as far back as 
1876. My mother and I had been joint legatees under Dante Gabriel's 
will : therefore my mother had a half share in his drawings &c. left 
unsold — though these remained with me as being practically mine. 
As Christina inherited from my mother, the half share had now 
become hers, and she hereby relinquishes it.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[18 May 1886.] 

My dear William, 

. . . On Saturday I attended by appointment at Mr. 
Turner's Office, took the required affidavit, and understood that now 
all is well forward for the actual proving of the will and rendering 
available of the property : so ere long I hope both to pay you your 
^\oo legacy and to transfer to you, Lucy, Olive, what appertains 
to each, — besides honouring the claims of the few other claimants. 
After very careful consideration and discussion with Mr. Turner I 
have sworn the property under ^6000, and to meet expenses I am 
going to sell out Bank stock 3 per cents : these at the moment of 
valuation stood, I think, at about 99I. Yesterday I called at the All 
Saints Home to reconnoitre, but found that the Revd. Mother is 
not expected there before next Monday or Tuesday : so if we act 
at once I shall leave ;^5oo untouched for her to decide about; 
it can be either transferred or sold out afterwards as she shall 
decide. 

I take this opportunity of reUnquishing to you any possible share 
I may have in the things left over from Gabriel's sale, including 
pictures, drawings &c., if there are any. You know the class of 
goods I mean. . . . 

To William Rossetti. 

[Christina had gone to stay awhile at Brighton, and she had 
offered to take our daughter Olivia with her — to which we gladly 
assented. I don't think that Olivia was at this time, or has ever 
become, of "a jealous disposition." Jealousy did not run in 
the Rossetti race — except indeed in Maria in her merely childish 
years.] 



i886— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 157 



17 BRUNSWICK ROAD, BRIGHTON. 

20 August 1886. 

My dear William, 

How very kindly you think of me. There have been no 
more fits of choking, and I hope there may be no more. My head- 
aches are very much relieved. What you report of Olive's cheerful- 
ness inspirits me, I do assure you, and at present I see no reason 
why (you and Lucy permitting) we should not stay out 4 weeks here 
together as I mentally proposed before starting. Olive looks very 
well, and even my anxious eye is satisfied. I think her a very nice 
child, docile and independent, which is a very fine combination of 
qualities. In face I think her a good deal like Lucy. She is full of 
intelligence. I cannot give any adequate reason for the doubt, yet I 
feel in doubt whether she has not some tendency towards a jealous 
disposition. So far as I know, every one here likes her ; one or two 
do, certainly. . . . 



To William Rossetti. 

[My "graphic prefix" was the preface which I wrote to the Collected 
Works of Dante Rossetti. Christina was right as to the point she 
adverted to, and I altered my text.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[6 October 1886.] 

Mv DEAR William, 

Musing on your graphic prefix, a point strikes me which I 
suggest with a suspicion that either — or both — of two weak points 
will annul it. Either you will not agree with me, or I shall bring my 
wares too late to market. 

In recording Gabriel's steady but undemonstrative affection for his 
family, don't you think it would be just to except Mamma from the 
" undemonstrative " ness ? I am well aware (as I believe) that long 
periods of silence and non-appearance took place : yet on the whole 
I should say that beyond all possibility of dispute he petted and 
worshipped our Mother with exuberant fondness. 



158 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

But, dropping this detail, what an interesting prefix it is : I hope 
it will rank as one of the attractions of the new edition. 

Nothing and nobody has occurred since we met. If the weather 
holds up, perhaps I may achieve my call " de rigueur " on Lucy this 
morning. 



To William Rossetti. 

[The dedication which I prefixed to Dante Rossetti's Collected 
Works was to the memory of our mother.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[lT,Jaiuia7y 1887.] 

My dear William, 

Thank you for the handsome D.G.R. I have returned to 
your delightful prefix with a renewal of pleasure, and recognize the 
blue-grey eyes and the fondness for our Mother. Your Dedication 
took me by surprise and charms me. Amongst the notes too there 
are points of particular interest. 

Mr. Turner was here this morning, and at last I am going to 
remake my will. Perhaps you may like to know about it when we 
meet : you are to be my sole legatee, but with some temporarily 
modifying memoranda, subject however to your convenience. We 
can talk it all over if you like in a few minutes. 

There are various trifles waiting to be shown you. 



To Lucy Rossetti, Sati Remo. 

[My wife, with the two elder children, had now gone to San 
Remo for health's sake : I after a while joined them. — Mr. W. J. 
Knewstub had studied painting under my brother's guidance towards 
1863, and produced several good works, praiseworthy more especially 
for colour. He was now in Manchester, assisting Madox Brown in 
extensive cartoons «S:c. for the decoration of an exhibition-building 
in celebration of Queen Victoria's jubilee. He became the father- 
in-law of two fine artists, Mr. William Rothenstein and Mr. William 
Orpen, and died in 1906.] 



i887— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 159 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

2^^ January [1887]. 

My dear Lucy, 

I have a letter and a card and a pretty little plant " for 
thought " to thank you for. The little heath looks charming planted, 
and promises I hope to live some time in spite of having exchanged 
Italy for England. You I trust thrive through having exchanged 
England for Italy. And I fancy this letter may not be long in your 
hands before William himself is with you, for I saw him yesterday 
and he proposes starting to-morrow. A great slice of my heart 
travels about with him now, he being the only one of his own 
standing left to me. . . . 

Since the new edition came out {D.G.R.) I have re-read Poor 
Henry. What a fine thing it is, well worthy of publication ; poor 
Gabriel mentioned it when we were together at Birchington : I am 
glad it at last has seen the light. William's preface too and his 
notes abound in interest, especially perhaps the former. 

The news that Mr. Knewstub has been working under your 
Father is superexcellent. 



To William Rossetti, Satt Remo. 

[The phrase "Are you still vagheggiando Vasto" means " Are you 
still thinking with pleasure of going to Vasto," our father's native 
city. I had some such vague intention when I left London for San 
Remo : but neither then nor at any subsequent date did it get 
fulfilled.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

5 Febrttaty 18S7. 

My dear William, 

Gracious was the moment when I discovered your P.S. at 
foot of Olive's letter. To her and to Arthur thanks, and to Lucy 
at their head love. It sounds earthly-paradise-like, your sketch of 
San Remo : but even there it would behove me to feel, " Arise ye 
and depart, for this is not your rest." I am glad you have more 



i6o CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

happy and endeared ties than I have, — I am glad, as so It is : 
otherwise I should be afraid of wishing it for you any more than for 
myself, and for myself I do not wish it. . . . 

And now, if an old sister is worth triumphing over, you may 
triumph over me. For, after declining your company to San Remo 
which might I dare say have answered far better, I find myself 
despatched to Torquay ! A month there is laid down, and perhaps 
in the course of the coming week I may betake myself thither. 
My doctor finds me very weak, and I see no way of evading his 
dicta (let us hope that termination is correct : I mean plural). Of 
course I will send you my address when I have one. Except 
general standing impediments and distaste, there is nothing now to 
keep me here as my will was finished off yesterday. 

I hope by the time you are returning that neither snow nor floods 
will impede your path. Are you still vagheggiando Vasto ? No, I 
suspect. 

To William Rossetti, San Remo. 

["Una specolazione da pezzente " means "a pauper-like specula- 
tion."] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

10 February 1887. 

My dear William, 

Share my warm thanks and love with Lucy for the great 
kindness of your telegram received yesterday afternoon. I was then 
not sure of my Torquay prospects, but this morning brings me word 
that I have secured for next Tuesday 2 rooms at Mrs. Harvey's — 

2 Beechwood 
Abbey Road 

Torquay — 

by which arrangement I judge it prudent to abide despite the 
engaging charms of San Remo. I heard of these rooms through 
two persons, and they woo me to try them by being only a guinea a 
week : if uncomfortable I can shift quarters, but I am assured of 
their respectability. I think of taking a month's return ticket, as I am 
desired by my doctor to stay a month, — not longer, I hope, yet at the 



i6\ 



1887— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 

worst one can get an extension of ticket. So you see I am armed 
at all points with reasons and resolutions. For one thing, I regret 
leaving behind me the rather amusing oversight of your correspond- 
ence : English postage costing a minimum, if you did not mind the 
delay the whole batch might follow me to Torquay where I would 
deal with it as heretofore : but this I foresee you will brand as " una 
specolazione da pezzente ! " 

Perhaps my mirthful style has already suggested to you that your 
" youngest sister looking dim and grim with dismal ways " is feeling 
better. Indeed I am : the last prescription, which I continue taking 
diligently, seems quite to the point, and fortifies my adherence to Sir 
William Jenner. . . . 

Mr. Niles (Roberts, Boston) tells me that 17/9 due to me is 
appended to his cheque to you : I dare say you see that so it is. 
Poor Time Flies has failed in their hands, but perhaps it is doing 
something at the S.P.C.K.'s New York depot. Aunt Eliza's love 
to all, and I invent Aunt Charlotte's who is upstairs : both tolerably 
well. 

To William Rossetti, San Remo. 

[It seems that Christina had been sending some snowdrops to my 
wife. The " never-to-be-forgotten drawing " was one which the latter 
had made in 1883 of our infant Michael in death. — Harriett was a 
servant in the Torrington Square house.] 

2 BEECHWOOD, ABBEY ROAD, TORQUAY, 

21 February 1887. 

My DEAR William, 

Our last letters crossed, as I hope you perceived : otherwise 
what could possess me not to respond to such expression of affectionate 
kindness from Lucy and you ? My love to her, flowing downward 
to Olive and Arthur. As to my precious health, I am now at a very 
tolerable level, against which if aught is to be alleged it is that I 
may perhaps be further defined as at a standstill. But I continue 
medicine, diet, prudence, and am not aware of any great outrage 
I am perpetrating against (that modernism) hygiene. . . . The 
weather is cold, but encouraged by sunshine I sat out a long time 



i62 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

to-day mostly reading. I don't know whether you have been at 
Torquay ; it is a noble mass of hill, rock, vegetation ; but the sea 
is so land-locked and pier-locked (though the piers are quite small) 
as to look very like a lake, while my delight is a boundless expanse. 
However, the beauty is very great. 

Alas ! my snowdrops were merely some given me by Harriett, 
though in the course of the transaction I recollected Lucy's in one 
never-to-be-forgotten drawing. 

Very fair news reaches me from home, and I have the gratification 
of believing myself missed. 

I like you revelling in lizard-like laziness ! Never break the spell 
for me. . . . 

So even San Remo has had severe cold. I may doubly content 
myself and be thankful here ; but I hope you are again warm and 
comfortable, or at least comparatively so. " Cold hand, warm 
heart," is not very far from my plight at this moment. 



To William Rossetti, San Remo. 

[This letter was consequent on the very severe and wide-extended 
earthquake which took place on the Riviera, including San Remo, 
on 25 February 1887. Christina had telegraphed to me as soon as 
she saw a newspaper-notice of the earthquake, and I telegraphed and 
wrote to her in return.] 



2 BEECHWOOD, ABBEY ROAD, TORQUAY. 

[28 February 1887.] 

My DEAREST William, 

Your blessed telegram yesterday afternoon between 5 and 
6 o'clock, and your (and Olivia's) letter to breakfast this morning, 
have eased me of a burden. I gave in my telegram at the P.O. 
before 10 a.m. on Friday, and it seemed long indeed before the 
reply set me at rest. My love to Lucy who I hope is not suffering 
from shock and makeshift quarters, and to Olivia, and to Arthur 
whose attack of pain and illness I hear of with regret, — I wonder 
whether he is half such a coward as I am at the dentist's. . . . 

What an awful awestriking experience an earthquake must be. . . . 



iSS;— TO LUCY ROSSETTl 163 

I cannot help wishing that you and yours may already be on the 
homeward road. Of course, no more shocks may ensue, but who 
can feel even ordinarily secure at San Remo after what has 
happened ? . . . 

Please tell Olive that I look forward with wonder and admiration 
to the Trap-door Spider's nest, but that I only guess "a molla" to 
signify ivith a spring: she must instruct me when I see her 
treasure. 

I am doing very well in health, not at all retrograding. Yet 
perhaps I may claim to have made a 10 years' stride both as to 
looks and feelings in these last weeks. If so, not by any means to 
be regretted. To-day I enjoyed a drive, the morning being sunny 
and lovely though not (barring sunshine) warm. I fully contemplate 
returning home at the completion of my 4 weeks (March 15), as I 
know I am wanted and shall be welcomed there. 



To Lucy Rossetti, Dijon. 

[Isabella (Mrs. Cole) was at this time residing at or near Bordi- 
ghera. — The P.S. about " la Turquie " may call for a word of 
comment. Some one — it may have been our ex-nursery governess 
Madame Laffey — hearing lately that Christina was going to Torquay, 
supposed that she was going to la Turquie, and the rumour had 
got round to Lucy at Dijon.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

21 March 18S7. 

My dear Lucy, 

So / was in your kind thoughts at such a moment ! I hope 
never to forget it with sisterly love and gratitude. I fully agree with you 
that it is impossible to pass through so awful an experience without 
deep impressions : the suspense I was in on all your accounts made 
its impression on me and sent me to prayer. . . . What alarming 
prognostics till the end of this year are published about earth- 
quakes on the Riviera : I hope Isabella and her husband will be 
preserved. 

I have had the pleasure of seeing William looking well, for he has 



i64 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

called here since my return last. Tuesday. Torquay and all that went 
with it have greatly revived me, so that now I feel better able to bear 
the wear and tear of daily life. And really I am glad to be settled 
at home again (though the break was refreshing), for I feel that here 
is my proper place. It will be a bright day when you can settle at 
home too, but anything but bright would it be if a premature return 
were to undo the good so anxiously wrought out. No, — better that 
we should know you are well at Dijon or at Bournemouth than ill 
and suffering in London. . . . 

I am much amused at the rumour that I was starting for "la 
Turquie." 

To Lucy Rossetti. 

[As I have said elsewhere, the opinions of my wife and myself on 
matters of religion were not such as to induce us to have any of our 
children baptized. In one instance — that of the infant Michael who 
died in 1883 — Christina, when he was visibly in danger, besought 
and obtained my permission to baptize him with her own hand — 
which she did.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[^Sn/ni/ier 18S7?] 

Mv DEAR Lucy, 

I have been thinking over something that passed yesterday, 
and, as I am sure of my own affectionate feeling, I confidently appeal 
to yours. 

We were talking about your " happy " children. And so I think 
them in the daily home-matters. But I cannot pointedly use that 
word happy without meaning something beyond the present life. 
And baptism (where attainable) is the sole door I know of whereby 
entrance is promised into the happiness which eye has not seen nor 
ear heard neither hath heart of man conceived. I now live so 
much in the other world — or at least I ought to do so, having 
my chief Treasure there — that please do not take offence at what I 
say. ... 

I constantly pray for you and William and my dear nephew and 
nieces. Yet I feel and acknowledge that every one of you is setting 
or has set me an example. 



i888— TO LUCY ROSSETTI i6: 



To William Rossetti. 



[At this time Eliza Polidori possessed a pencil-head of my brother 
done by himself, and I suppose some other drawings of his not of 
any leading importance. I was not so flush of money as to try to 
secure any of them. The head of Rossetti, done when he was about 
nineteen with a mass of long hair, was later on sold by Eliza to the 
National Portrait Gallery.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

8 May 1888. 

My dear William, 1 

. . . Our Aunts go orlnicely from day to day. If ever you 
should feel disposed to make a bid for any of the Gabriel portraits 
which belong to Aunt Eliza, I think you would have a chance of 
success. But this I merely remark on my own account, without any 
authority : and please bury the hint in your own unshared inner 
consciousness. . . . 

Perhaps you do so already, — but if not, and if you would not 
think it wrong, I wish you would sometimes pray for me that I may 
_ not, after having (in a sense) preached to others, be myself a castaway. 
Of course you and yours are very much in my prayers. It seems 
unnatural to love you so much and yet never say one word about 
matters which colour my life. 



To Lucy Rossetti, Worthing. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[1888— ?/?<«£•.] 

My dear Lucy, 

I am shocked and pained to know what you are suffering. 
For though I never myself endured a carbuncle I have seen my 
dearest Mother more than once ill with one, and so I know the keen 
pain and exhaustion which ensue. Dear Sister, I would help and 
ease you if I could. . . . Meanwhile I hope our dear Olive's recovery 
is cordial and balm to you. . . . 

At last I have seen Sir William Jenner, and, whilst he admits the 
impossibility of my leaving home, he insists on my taking what care 



i66 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

I can. He did not that I recollect use the word, yet I think what 
he detects is a tendency to exhaustion threatening some distinct 
result. "What then? the sweeter after this stripped earth Will 
be the shady rest of Paradise ". Not that I arrogate to myself so 
blessed an end: but God's Mercy to sinners is infinite. On the 
other hand, I fancy that with reasonable prudence I may do very 
well. In fact I am very much as when last you saw me, so do not 
fancy me " dim and grim " beyond my wont. . . . 

What funny proposals meet one ! I have just been asked to go to 
Weston-super-Mare next month and take part in distributing the 
prizes to a large girls' school, — of course, the mistress is an acquaint- 
ance. My answer was an unflinching No. . . . 



To William Rossetti, Worthing. 

[Mr. Stewart, who constantly attended female members of my 
family, was the father of Dr. Edward Stewart, who had now, owing 
to an interesting train of circumstances, become engaged to Lady 
Philippa Howard, daughter of a Duke of Norfolk. — After Christina's 
death I took possession of the "priceless Singsong" and am not 
likely to offer it to any one for any level of price.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[Sjttly 1888.] 

My dear William, 

I hope your own health and those other healths so dear to 
you are thriving. . . . 

Do you recollect encountering Dr. Edward Stewart one day 
at our door, — one disastrous day when no one heard your 
knock? He is engaged to a sister of the Duke of Norfolk, with 
apparent satisfaction to both families. Lady Philippa is the bride 
elect, and the marriage is talked of for November. The only regret, 
so far as I know, on our Mr. Stewart's part, is for the difference of 
religion, — wherein I quite agree with him. Dr. Stewart will continue 
his medical practice, which intention accords with his fiancee's wishes, 
and they want a house near his father's. " Edward and Philippa " 
match well. . . . 



i888— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 167 V 

Poor old Aunt Charlotte, she is very patient, — and truly it needs 
patience to lie peacefully day after day on a helpless bed. . . . 

In some trepidation I lately balanced my | year's expenses against 
the corresponding receipts, and found a small overplus on the right 
side. So I hope I have turned over a new leaf, for I do not think it 
at all satisfactory to draw habitually on a reserve. . . . 

With an eye to its future I have concocted a priceless Singsong 
with marginal additions. Indeed, I advise you not to disperse my 
library to the four winds without careful inspection of copies, lest you 
should squander unsuspected treasures here and there. 



To William Rossetti. 

[This letter relates to some articles I wrote for The Magazine of 
Art on Portraits of Dante Rossetti. — The affair of Mr. Frederick 
Sandys was this. He produced towards 1858 a caricature of a 
picture by Millais, representing the three leading Prseraphaelite 
painters riding upon Ruskin as a donkey. I had said in my article 
that this was done before Sandys had ever seen Dante Rossetti : but 
no doubt Christina's rectification was correct. — Mr. Shields made a 
drawing of my brother lying in death, and two replicas of it 
followed.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[I Ocfober 1888.] 

Mv DEAR William, 

I have been with great interest and pleasure through your 
"Portraits." You told me you thought Fart 2 might still be 
accessible to afterthought : therefore I deferentially submit a note 
or two. 

1. I feel sure Gabriel spoke of a random visit of Sandys, then a 
perfect stranger to him, in connexion with his getting-up a like- 
ness for the caricature. Of course the motive of the call was 
inferred : its ostensible aim was something trivial, say to ask for an 
address. 

2. The larger Downey photo, (my framed copy) is endorsed in 
your handwriting "taken Dec. 1862." 

3. Of " male portraits " I remind you of George Gordon Hake, of 



i68 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

which a mention would I suspect give pleasure. A pen-and-ink of 
Uncle Henry will not, I dare say, count. 

4. Don't you think, both because of Gabriel's afifectionate feelings 
and ways and because of the grave protracted nature of his last 
illness, it would be judicious to add his trained nurse Mrs. Abrey to 
the list of those present at the last ? 

5. A third posthumous portrait (drawing) by Shields was given (?) 
by him to Mr. Leyland. 



To William Rossetti, Pau. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

10 December 18S8. 
Mv DEAR William, 

I am sure Lucy will accept my love and sanction my 
writing to you this time, as I have written once to her and to you 
not at all. How kindly you both think of me : and I like my little 
pet Mary's interest in St. Christina; years and years ago I was 
disconcerted by a particular some one's announcing it as doubtful 
whether that Saint ever existed in reality. . . . 

Please do not say " The grapes are sour " ! Beautiful, delightful, 
noble, memorable, as is the world you and yours frequent, — / yet am 
well content in my shady crevice : which crevice enjoys the unique 
advantage of being to my certain knowledge the place assigned me. 
And in my small way I have my small interests and small pleasures. 
To-day I presented Mr. Stewart with a Shadow of Dante, djnd believe 
it was received with real gratification. . . . 

Not long ago I visited our good Maria's grave and found all well. 
Later I have been to our dearest Mother's, taking a few chrysanthe- 
mums and pretty greenery : how she loved flowers ! The one bush, 
and otherwise blank little bed, are kept nice and trim, and little 
Michael's was in good order beside it. . . . 

Tell Mary from me that I have heard of a brandy-drinking cat. 
Poor puss was taken ill and milk and brandy was tried. It rallied. 
When afterwards plain milk was offered it, it declined it till brandy 
was added ! I believe it is a long-haired pussy. 

Here I break off, and this will probably wait till the next enclosure 
as assuredly it can well afford to wait. 



i888— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 169 

To Lucy Rossetti, Pau. 

[The earlier part of this letter contains a reference to Christina's 
habit of destroying letters as soon, as answered. Had not this been 
her constant practice, something considerable might have been 
added to the bulk of this volume. — The affair of Birchington is not 
wholly present to my mind : I suppose some one had said (and not 
in this instance only) that Dante GabrieFs grave was not properly 
attended to. I made inquiries more than once, and could never find 
that any solid ground of complaint had arisen. However, I heed- 
fully attended to whatever could be needed in a minor way. — " Olive's 
l)lay " was named Le Jeune Bara : it applied to a boy-hero of the 
great French revolution, and was acted in our hotel just about 
Christmas-time — Arthur personating Robespierre (!) whom the youth- 
ful authoress had not treated in the " raw head and bloody bones " 
style of some annalists.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

13 December 1888. 

My dear Lucy, 

I got a charming letter from William this morning, so 
charming that I felt tempted to swerve from my propriety and write 
to him twice running ! But your prior and welcome claim I 
deliberately honour, and indeed I should be very short-sighted to 
forfeit by neglect a continuance of " your esteemed favours." So 
please give him my love, and tell him that at present I am reprieving 
letters from that summary injustice which executes them forthwith, — 
his are really too nice. Also he must know that I have at once 
written to Dr. Maccoll explanatorily, and to Birchington enquiringly 
— Mr. Alcock has moved to a different Kentish Incumbency, but I 
feel no difficulty in addressing his successor : I hope the affair is on 
its way to a satisfactory issue. 

How lovely Pau must be, with delicious climate, leisure, rest. . . . 
Although I had heard two or three times of Olive's play, never till this 
morning did I understand that it was written in French ! Still more 
impressive is the German journal ! ! My love to my polyglot niece 
and the juniors. I hope the four will not leave Italian out of their 
" curriculum " (which learned word I further hope runs on all fours 
in this my sentence). . . . 



I70 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

Yesterday two ladies called to ask if I was at home, would not 
come in, retired without leaving name or message, returned with 
a few very beautiful flowers; and vanished anonymously as they 
arrived : a funny, pretty little incident. . . . 



To Helen Rossetti (Angeli), Pau. 

^December 1888.] 

My dear Helen, 

I recollect how pretty Olive's play of Theseus was, and how 
well the dresses were managed : so I dare say this second drama will 
go off nicely too. I wonder what part the daughter of the " femme 
Bara" has to play, — for I do not know the plot of the piece. I 
hope virtue triumphs. 

My love and best wishes to you accompany Dodo. There is a 
disagreeable little girl, sister of the hero, whom I recommend you not 
to be like ! Dodo himself I like, and the ugly Colonel ; and I think 
perhaps even the disagreeable girl improved. Have you ever noticed 
how portraits sometimes seem to look at one? I have. When you 
read the story through, you will see what I allude to. 

I like to think of you in dear Aunt Charlotte's necklace to-day, 
and still better I like that you do not need it to remind you of her 
who loves you. She likes to listen to the letters from Pau. 

To Mary Rossetti, Pau. 

December 1888. 
My dear little Mary, 

I have had at least 2 of your nice little letters, and only 
now do I answer them straight to yourself. But I am a busy aunt in 
a small way. I am working away at a heap of cards and letters this 
very day. Be sure, dear, of my true love and very best wishes. 1 
hope you like the " Zoo " : I dare say you will recognize some of the 
beasts, and I hope there are some amusing anecdotes of one or other 
of them. The spectacled kitten and the tabby kitten are old enough 
now to be sent away, but I do not know when they will be fetched : 
soon I hope. I now like the spectacled one better than the other, 



i889— TO ARTHUR ROSSETTI 171 

which is pretty but not uncommon. They might be called Beauty 
and the Beast. 

I dare say your kind Papa is sorry to leave you, just as you are 
sorry to lose him : but then how delightful it will be to see him 
again ! 

To Olivia Rossetti (Agresti), Pau. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONUON, W.C. 

14 February 1889. 
My dear Olivia, 

I am very glad you like the Shadow of Dante. It is indeed 
a work written from a fund of knowledge far wider and deeper than 
could be compressed into its pages, eloquent and elegant, the fruit of 
a fine mind and a noble soul. And to me, though not to you, it is 
graced with the endearing charm of resembling its beloved author 
by being full of goodness and with no insignificant touch of great- 
ness. I do not think that it is sisterly partiality which thus draws 
her portrait. . . . 

To Arthur Rossetti, Biarritz. 

[I have only a vague recollection as to Christina's "game" (of 
cards). My children used to play it a little, but I suppose it is now 
totally defunct] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

26 February 1889. 

My dear Arthur, 

I have taken quite an extra-large sheet of paper ; and how 
it is to be filled who knows ? Not I, your affectionate aunt. 

However, my birthday love and my earnest wishes for every bless- 
ing upon you supply quality if not quantity. I write to-day on 
purpose that this may reach you not later than Thursday, and not 
knowing exactly how much time I should allow. Your last letter 
pleased me much, and enables me to enjoy with you that wonderful 
prismatic foam which is denied to my bodily eye, and that noble 
rocky sea which I hope is helping to fortify all my dear exiles for a 
happy return home some day. . . . 



172 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

If you are not tired of feline literature it may please you to know 
that the spectacled kitten was pronounced pretty (!) in its new home, 
and that it touches, and I beUeve takes in its mouth, some white 
mice (its fellow citizens) without injuring them. I hope instinct will 
not suddenly assert itself to the dire detriment of mousey. 

I dare say you never suspected your sober old aunt of having 
invented a game. Years ago, however, I did : and I send it you in 
case you may like to try it some evening when even sunny Biarritz 
may be dim and chilly. I don't know whether any one else will 
think it amusing, but I entertain a weakness for it. . . . 

We in London are wintry at present. 



To William Rossetti. 

[This letter refers to the proofs of my book entitled Dante Gabriel 
Rossetti as Designer and Writer, which (as indicated in the lecter) 
was not, and was not intended to be, a " biography " of him. A very 
few explanations must here suffice. Christina's remark numbered i8 
refers to James CoUinson's picture of St. Elizabeth of Hwigary. 19, 
H.H.H. were the initials used by Dante Rossetti when he first 
printed Sister Helen. 25, The volume was Main's Treasury of 
English Son?iets presented to our mother on her eightieth birthday, 
with my brother's sonnet on The Son7ie t msertod. 27 refers to his 
sonnet The Monochord. 30 refers to the sonnet A Superscription. 
31, The "boyish and youthful work" consists of sketches &c. by 
Dante Gabriel. 32, Sorrentino was a romantic tale of his begun 
(not completed) towards 1842. 37 relates to an oil-portrait of Eliza 
Polidori.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

\20func 1889.] 

My dear William, 

... I fully concur in your negative as to yourself writing 
any biography of poor dear Gabriel : such a suggestion has once or 
twice been made to me, but I hold inflexibly aloof. . . . 

18. Gabriel spoke (at Heme Bay, 1877) with considerable esteem 
of the " St. Elizabeth," thinking in whose hands it might be. 

19. At the Howitts' one evening Allingham suggested "Hear, 
hear, hear," for " H. H. H." 



i889— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 173 

20. Teodorico was consulted about some of Gabriel's Italian 
verse. . . . 

24. Do you recollect the ready wit with which Gabriel suggested 
" viperous " as rhyme to " Cyprus " when the matter was mooted ? 

25. Literally, / was donor of the volume, and my hands inserted 
the Sonnet. . . . 

27. Abandoning verbal particulars — don't you think the point may 
be the common essence (so to say) of all these outward and inward 
matters? — as if one thread (the musical " monochord," but not in the 
sense of any weight or measure) ran through all, vibrated through all? 
Thus we should get the sort of truth which the blind man so neatly 
conveyed who likened scarlet to the sound of the trumpet. . . . 

30. I think " Dead Sea " suggests much more than your note 
recognizes ; and I conjecture that so it did to Gabriel. 

31. I have our dear Mother's old hoard of boyish and youthful 
work : do look at it some day, — perhaps a lost treasure or two may 
come to light. 

32. — for instance, I think the 2 sketches (duplicates) I send are 
a last lingering trace of Sorrentino. Keep them if you care for 
them ; if not, some day please send them back. I fear I do not 
possess what I seem clearly to remember, a drawing from S. in which 
an evil spirit crouches down by a balustrade. . . . 

37. Charlotte P. originally, and so far as I know still. This 
portrait was done, I believe, as a substitute for a water-colour {Kate 
the Queen ?) first given Aunt C, and then with her consent (possibly 
after the fact) sold. 

Here, such as they are, are my annotations : some, you see, are 
friendly remarks not relevant to the particular text. 

What a lovely day. Love all round your circle. 



To Lucy Rossetti, London. 

[I have mentioned elsewhere this affair of the corks — /. e. slabs of 
virgin cork. Christina, in the autumn of 1889, showed my wife a 
printed leaflet recommending the depositing of such slabs in a room 
as a remedy against bronchial or pneumonial troubles ; and Christina 
gave her some of those slabs. My wife used them for many months 
together, with apparent benefit.] 



174 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

[torrington square. 

C. I October 1889. 

My dear Lucy, 

Buoyed up by corks I invoke your notice ! Pray try my 
corks, — not that I pin faith to them, but that I trust they cannot do 
harm. And please reject them not after one night, but try them for 
at least 2 consecutive nights, such being the suggestion of my 
document. 

I saw my dear delightful William yesterday, and we " vagheggi- 
ammo" corks together. 



To William Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[15 November 1889.] 

My dear William, 

I enclose a legible letter from Lady Mount-Temple. . . . 
I am heartily glad (are not you?) at the Beata Beatrix being 
presented to the nation, hoping meanwhile that the Clifford replica 
is not quite unworthy. 

Now let me pavoneggiare a surface scrap of history. You once 
scorned the idea of an extern King of Spain. But, considering that 
at the outset of the War of the Succession the then Duke of Savoy 
alleged a fourth contingent title to that crown, I do think that el Rey 
Don Amadeo had something to say for himself. [N.B. I am aware 
of the theory that vanity piques itself on one's weak point rather than 
on one's strong point : which may account for my ostentatious bit of 
history.] I have just finished three volumes of Marlborough memoirs 
and correspondence, nominally Duchess but involving much Duke : 
the latter, in spite of Thackeray's verdict, seems to me to have a very 
attractive side to his character. . . . 

I have heard nothing of the dear old Scotts this long time. — My 
love to Lucy and the four. 



To William Rossetti. 

[The text quoted was for the tombstone of Charlotte Polidori, who 
had died on 8 January. — I do not now distinctly recollect what was 



iSgo— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 175 

Mr. Gladstone's " list of poetesses," nor how Christina came to know 
anything about it — perhaps through Lady Mount-Temple. As to 
Mrs. Webster, I have more than once had occasion to record Chris- 
tina's very high admiration (fully shared by myself) of that poetess's 
tragedy The Se?ite?tce : this more especially, and some other works in 
fair proportion.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, 

[Z2 January 1890.] 

My dear William, 

... In case of your proceeding to give orders, I remind 
you that you approved of the text " I waited patiently for the Lord," 
Ps. 40. I. 

My love to dear Lucy, who I hope was better when you got home 
than my croak suggested. 

By-the-by, did not Mr. Gladstone omit from his list of poetesses 
the one name which / incline to feel as by far the most formidable of 
those known to me, Augusta Webster ? I did not notice the omission 
at the moment, but suspect it in retrospect. . . . 

I am writing with cold hands and a cold nose ! 



To William Rossetti. 

["A Kemble " (mentioned at the close of this letter) is, I suppose, 
an autograph letter from the celebrated actor John Philip Kemble to 
my grandfather. This must have been discovered among Charlotte 
Polidori's small hoards ; and I at a later date found half-a-dozen or 
so of similar letters in the Torrington Square house. They were all 
slight casual missives.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[26 March 1 890.] 

My dear William, 

Thankyou for " cemetery " news and powers, on which I 
hope to act to-morrow morning by going to Highgate if the day 
favours. . . . 

I want to correct a mis-statement I made some time ago. Some- 
thing you said led me to answer in a general way that morning 
prayer took me (about ?) half an hour, — but it did not and does not 



176 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

take me so long. This has justly worried me, as the inaccuracy told 
in my own favour. . . . 

I am looking through Aunt C.'s journals, and have found a small 
— very small — proportion of sentences to preserve : amongst these 
some which it would have been a pity to destroy. 

Yesterday came to me a rather pretty book from " Lewis Carroll," 
the Nursery Alice. — I have settled with Mr. Greenwood who accepts 
me as tenant, but of course Aunt Eliza and I go shares in rent «&:c. 
She, poor thing, without perhaps being very ill, endures a good deal 
of distressing sensation. I hope I shall succeed in keeping her 
money-matters as well as my own under my administration, for if 
not I know not how we shall be able to go on. However, I should 
beware of being (as indeed I am) " careful and troubled." 

I have seen various friends lately, but not so as to supply much 
news. Have you heard of a Da?ite Map projected by a Miss Hens- 
man, who wanted my good word to help her towards a publisher ? I 
wrote accordingly. Lately I contributed a " Kemble " to the Wis- 
bech Museum, and received formal thanks. 



To William Rossetti. 

[The term "the idiotic I" appHes to a certain photograph of my 
sister, taken in 1877, which she used to term "the Idiot," as the 
expression of the face is not a little vacant.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[6 December 1890.] 
My dear William, 

I enclose 3 photographs ; the idiotic I for contempt and 
cremation, the other 2 for your American. Please hand to Lucy and 
Helen their respective notes. 

I forgot yesterday that I lately saw the George Hakes, and heard 
that Dr. Hake versifies as ardently and vigorously as ever. Henry 
Hake's marriage seems a very happy one. 

There is a book too I might have shown you, if I had remembered : 
Poems by Emily Dickinson, lately sent me from America — but 
perhaps you know it. She had (for she is dead) a wonderfully 



iSgi— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 177 

Blakean gift, but therewithal a startling recklessness of poetic ways 
and means. 

I am feeling at 60 very much as I did at 59 ! ! though not quite 
as relieved and exhilarated by the circumstance as when at 30 I 
gazed in the looking-glass, and discerned no marked change from 29. 

To William Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[8 December 1890.] 

My dear William, 

Thinking of the National Portraits desideratum, a scheme 
occurred to me. I mentioned the affair to Aunt Eliza, and find her 
inclined to sell her long-haired portrait of Gabriel. If no bid ensues, 
I dare say she will give it : but the first overture is commercial. 
Are you disposed to negotiate the business? or will you kindly 
furnish me with an apposite name and address ? To own the truth, 
I am heartily glad of the present prospect, because at one time she 
seemed to take a dislike to the work, and proposed giving it to Mr. 
Turner ! ! but do not mention this, as I do not want to spread so 
queer an incident 

Please expedite matters as much as you can, all delays being 
harassing to our poor old Aunt. 

Loves. 

To William Rossetti. 

[The reference to my " picture-valuing " applies to my having 
undertaken for the Board of Inland Revenue, without any remuner- 
ation, the work of estimating the value of pictures and drawings 
falling liable to estate-duty. As Christina hoped, I did, after 
retiring from Somerset House, continue this work, receiving some 
fees. — My Adonais was the edition of Shelley's poem, with my notes 
&c., which had recently been published by the Clarendon Press, 
Oxford. My '* Phantasm remark " had to do with a cancelled 
passage of Adonais^ generally supposed to apply to Coleridge : I 
will not here quote my remark, not being sure that other people would ' 
find it so amusing as Christina did. — " The condensed DGR " must 
have been a recent re-edition (from the Collected Works) of Dante' 
Rossetti's original poems. — Christina expected to see me on "the 
2nd Wednesday in April " because this was one of the evenings 

I 



178 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

when the Shelley Society, to which I belonged, met in University 
College ; and, since my removal to distant St. Edmund's Terrace, I 
always took my meal with Christina on those evenings. — " // Tempo, 
Salterio" (which has been previously referred to), is one of our 
father's leading poetic volumes, published in 1843. There had been 
an earlier and not identical edition, under the title of Iddio e l' Uomo, 
Salterto, 1833.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[9 March 1 891.] 

My dear William, 

I am so glad you are better and comparatively well that I 
must not mind any minor matter. I am glad too in itself that you 
are picture-valuing, and I secretly indulge a hope, short of despair, 
that you may have a snug little berth awaiting you at the moment of 
superannuation. . . . 

When you do come you will find that I have been reading your 
Adonais with much interest. Indeed I have gone the length of a 
scrapfull of notes which I hope to pour out on your devoted head. 
I fairly laughed all by myself at your " Phantasm " remark. I have 
read too the condensed DGR, but am inclined to doubt whether his 
fatal chloral propensity can have dated so early as you suggest : had 
he then come in contact with Mr Stillman ? to whom I understood 
the introduction of chloral was innocently owing. . . . 

Aunt Eliza is not much amiss except as to brain which at present 
is very untrustworthy . . . 

I dare say, if not before, we shall have the pleasure of seeing you 
on the 2nd Wednesday in April. . . . 

For the first time (!) I am reading // Tempo, Salterto — much that 
is fine. 

To William Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[16 March 1891,] 
My dear William, 

We have just received from Mr. Scharf the good news that 
" the Trustees of this Gallery unanimously agreed upon the purchase 
of your Brother's beautiful drawing at the price named p^2o." — 
This, I think, is a very gratifying evidence of dear G.'s standing. . . . 



I 



i8gi— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 179 



To William Rossetti. 

[Luigi Polidori, residing in Florence, was a relative (first cousin 
first remove) of Charlotte Polidori, who had constantly assisted him, 
as succeeding to other relatives in that line, with money. He 
persecuted her not a little. Since the death of Charlotte, Mr. Turner, 
as solicitor for the estate, had consented to deal to some extent with 
Luigi's importunities. In consequence of the present letter from 
Christina I undertook to do what she wanted — i. e. (as I understood 
it) to receive and read future letters from Luigi, and to advise 
Christina concerning them. As a preliminary, I began by destroying 
all the past letters. Christina, whose squeezableness in such matters 
exceeded mine, was startled when I told her of this ; and she receded 
from the arrangement proposed, and henceforward dealt direct with 
all Luigi's missives, sending him no doubt a good deal more money 
than she ought to have allowed him to wring out of her. His letters 
must still have been sent to Mr. Turner's address : for Christina had 
at least the prudence not to let Luigi know the name or address of 
his benefactress. Thus did things continue until my sister's death, 
when I wrote to Luigi to explain.] 



^ 30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

23 April 1 89 1. 

My dear William, 

I am prepared to be viewed by you as more or less 
obnoxious. 

Last night I received the enclosed letter from Mr. Turner, which 
was followed by his visit this morning. Within that letter you will 
find an accumulation of Luigis, and the card of the gentleman, A. 
Galzini, who called on Mr. T. This Galzini lives it seems in 
London, but happily Mr. Turner with-held from him our names 
and addresses. However, come what may, it is high time to 
relieve poor Mr. Turner (who really has now nothing to do with it 
all) of further trouble and besetment. Talking with him, I struck 
out this plan, for which I beseech your toleration and concurrence. 
I now and he henceforward are to send all Luigis to you, to be 
judged according to your own judgment : whenever (if ever) you 
think a remittance advisable, / will find the cash if you will take the 
trouble. I invoke your aid both as Aunt Charlotte's quondam 



i8o CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

executor and as my one brother. If however you reject this 
overture, please return the painful packet : if the contrary, bestow 
a card to calm my mind. 

Please give my love to Lucy ; and explain that I was on my way 
to say good-bye when the door at which I was presenting myself shut, 
and shut me out : I dare say she detects that I am still sufficiently 
shy to lose heart under such a rebuff. The " at home " seemed to 
me very successful, and I only regret not having had a glimpse of 
your library. What a beautiful stair carpet. 

Love to any who love me — but really that is quite unChristian ! — 
to all who do and to any who don't ! 

To William Rossetti. 

[Two Italian phrases here may perhaps deserve translation : 
"Nemico"&c., '■^Better is inimical to good;" "pegni," pledges. — 
Olivia and Arthur went in for the Oxford local examination of 1891 ; 
and the rest of us accompanied them to Oxford. — The " stump of a 
tree " was the remains of a tree, in the back yard of Christina's 
house or visible therefrom, which had been lopped down almost to 
extinction in 1890.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

UJnly 1 89 1.] 

My dear William, 

Lucy and you are brotherly and sisterly in this matter, and 
both have my love and thanks. But really and truly so long as 
conscience does not urge me to start, and so long as I go on as 
tolerably as at present, I feel unenergetic and loth to come out of 
my hole. 

Nemico del bene e il meglio. Your company would in itself 
be a lure, and if not precisely in dulness I dare say I could beat 
you hollow in dismalness ! Only would that game repay us for our 
candle? Let us leave that Yarrow unvisited. So long as I have 
you I have one very dear person left, and I trust you will not 
misinterpret my apathy towards myself into indifference to you. 
Just now too I am much more comfortable again, for Mr. Stewart 
has stopped all physic and my throat has gained greatly. 

I wonder where you and yours will take your holiday : I hope it 



iSgi— TO LUCY ROSSETTI i8i 

will cheer you, strengthen Lucy, and foster the four " pegni," to 
whom my love. I hope soon— or at least in due course — to hear 
the result to Olive and Arthur of the Oxford examination. . . . 

Did you not despise our stump of a tree at the catastrophe of last 
year ? I on the contrary am very glad of it (since better may not 
be) for it is leafy and pretty as far as it goes, and its taller neighbour 
does something towards veiling its shortcomings. Turn a blind eye 
towards those of &c. 



To Lucy Rossetti, Bournemouth. 

[Mr. Joseph Skipsey, the coal-miner poet, was at this time 
custodian of Shakespear's birth-house in Stratford-on-Avon : I had 
had some little part in procuring him this post. My wife, on 
leaving Oxford, had gone to Stratford for a day or two : and she 
then made acquaintance with Mr. Skipsey, whom she particularly 
liked. He told her that he was likely to resign his post, finding 
that the majority of visitors to the birth-house took next to no 
interest in the serious and exalted associations of the place, but 
rather in silly stories about a pipe which Shakespear had (or had not) 
smoked, or a neighbouring locality where he had got drunk, or 
something of the kind. This is what Christina adverts to. I under- 
stood soon afterwards that the more essential reason why Skipsey 
resigned was that his wife, who had to be constantly showing visitors 
about, was in a condition of health which rendered this highly unsuit- 
able, and even unsafe. — Mrs. William Bell Scott was now a widow, 
her husband having died in November 1890,] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

26 August [1891]. 

My dear Lucy, 

I hope, I do hope, Bournemouth is doing you more good 
than Oxford appears to have done ... I did not know Mr. Skipsey 
was installed as custodian : such is my sordid mind that I might 
scarcely venture on discharging myself without an alternative berth, 
if taste alone is outraged. . . . 

Here is a message to you from Mrs. Scott : — " Will you tell Lucy 
I should be so happy to see her. I dare say she is not in town, but 
will be available in some autumn day perhaps." This dear old 



i82 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

friend has been ill and very weak, but is better now, and is I hope 
comfortably settled in her new home at Lancaster Hall, 

133 Lancaster Road 

Notting Hill— W. 

Looking up I see sunshine and some blue sky : I hope you see 
the same and are cheered by it. 

William came last Friday, welcome as usual. He showed me one 
or two interesting letters, and was his own agreeable self, — for you 
know of old I believe in William ! 

My love to your and my four. 

To William Rossetti. 

[" Signor Mayo," or properly the Conte Adelfo Mayo, was one of 
my Vastese correspondents, the one whose letters I received with 
most pleasure : he still continues to correspond with me. The pro- 
posal then pending was that of purchasing for the city of Vasto the 
house in which my father had been born. The project was much 
agitated, but has never, I fancy, been fully effected.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[28 December 1891.] 

My dear William, 

I am glad to have dined with you and yours on Christmas 
Day, though to me the meeting had a sad side. The last time we 
dined thus together, it was you with our dearest Mother on the last 
Christmas Day she kept on earth. " I will lift up mine eyes unto 
the hills from whence cometh my help." 

Thankyou for Sr. Mayo's letter re-enclosed. It is a more cheerful 
document. If it comes to a general subscription for purchase of 
house, very likely I shall be able to contribute ; but at the end of 
the year is not one's most opulent moment, and I express myself 
cautiously. . . . 

To William Rossetti. 

[This letter relates to a volume of poems written by Mr. Morley 
Roberts. This gentleman became personally known to me at a later 
date; but for the present I had only some acquaintance with his 
father, an official at Somerset House. The latter had presented me 






1892— TO LUCY ROSSETTI 183 

with a copy of the Poems of Energy, and had informed me that the 
author was particularly inclined to learn what view my sister would 
take of them. Hence her pronouncement. " I think him clever" is 
(apart from whatever else) an opinion in which thousands of readers 
have vigorously concurred since then.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

18 February [1S92]. 

My dear William, 

I am glad indeed that nothing has involved me in writing 
straight to our poet, whose book I return. I think him clever, — but 
what is the use of cleverness in matters poetic ? A number of lines 
strike me as I go along, but at last I feel myself stranded on a not 
high level. Is he a Scotchman ? possibly, I should think. " Poems 
of Energy " they are, but of judicious energy ? The goodness of his 
actual work gives me the idea that he could if he would work well in 
a different field. Grotesquerie seems to me woven of good points 
and relative come-downs. I do admire some, yet on the whole I 
must not rank myself as an admirer. The little man on the cover 
seems not quite to have seized his bull by the horns, and the great 
man within the cover may have done much the same. I regret my 
opinion, but being mine it has to be given : consign me to discreet 
oblivion. 

What a mercy that the influenza has abated ; I hope yours will not 
return. . . . 

Aunt Eliza goes on very fairly, and people in bed are not the 
worst off in such weather. I go on, if not friskily, doggedly. . . . 

I am open to a hope that I am wrong about our poet : time will 
show. 



To Lucy Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

20 March 1892. 

My dear Lucy, 

. . . Mr. Stewart is keeping guard over me at present, and 
the other day suggested that he does not see why (like others of us) 
I should not live to be 80 ! Time will show, and I only wish what 



i84 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

God wills; but I do not run up like quicksilver at the announce- 
ment. . . . 

I quite enjoyed some Dante conversation with William when last 
we met ; please hand him the enclosed jP.S. to our talk. Perhaps 
it is enough to be half an Italian, but certainly it is enough to be a 
Rossetti, to render Dante a fascinating centre of thought ; moreover, 
I am not sure that my dear old Grandfather did not outrun my 
Father in admiration for the poet as a poet. 



To William Rossetti. 

[This must be the "P.S. to our talk" named in the preceding 
letter. Christina's remarks go into details which will be understood 
by readers of the Inferno. Once launched upon an bigenious train 
of thought, she had considerable mental finesse in pursuing it. — I 
have not any recollection about the affair of " Wynifred Rawlinson " : 
possibly, however, a member of a family of which I knew something, 
the father being a gentleman of means who collected pictures by 
Whistler and others.] 



My dear William, 

After flourishing over Alchemists and their allies, I recol- 
lected Sorcerers who also seem exempt from sustained external 
infliction though the original wrench seems to have been given them ; 
I fear this weakens my theory as to substance-deterioration of 
Alchemists. My enthusiasm actually sent me to the Penny Cyclopcedia, 
and a glance confirms my surmise that trajismutation was in question 
before Dante's date ; but I confess it was a glance, and not a careful 
reading. Don't you think something (additional to your exposition) 
might be made of Mastro Adamo's dropsy? His crime was to 
debase coin ; his punishment to have his blood debased ; that by 
alloy, this by water. And, if (as I think I saw somewhere) the 
circulation of the blood was not unsurmised as long ago as would 
be required, would or would not a play upon words suggest itself 
between the circulating vital fluid and the circulating medium ? or 
would our own who " il gran comento fece " repudiate the triviality ? 
As to Usurers who (I see) are considered to correspond with 



1892— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 185 

Alchemists,-— \[ so (in addition to points already established or 
suggested) might not some stress be laid upon their in a sense 
requiring money to " be fruitful and multiply " contrary to its natural 
constitution ? May my remarks not bore you ! 

1 think I have recovered the name of the person who wanted Sing- 
Songs about flowers to illustrate : Wynifred Rawlinson. 



To William Rossetti. 

[The beginning of this letter refers to The Face of the Deep, and to 
a copy of it which was to be sent to Mr. Theodore Watts-Dunton. 
— The latter part of the letter relates to the alarming condition of 
Christina's health, which directly afterwards necessitated an operation 
for cancer. This was the first intimation which reached me on that 
precise subject.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

20 May 1892. 

Mv DEAR William, 

Thanks for all brotherliness. No ! I send on your note to 
Theodore Watts umesid, thinking it wiser on this occasion to peruse 
neither my own praises nor dispraises. Of course I am ordering the 
copy, and I hope it will be one with a sadly-needed slip of " errata," 
for at the end of an investigation I sent a list to Mr. McClure, and he 
wrote back that already the list was given in hand. The list, alas ! 
was so long that I omitted trivial printers' errors. . . . 

At last it seems that something brooding in my health has 
reached a point demanding sharp treatment, but I cannot be quite 
sure till a second opinion has been sought which (d.v.) will be 
obtained to-morrow. I will write again if I can, and if there is any- 
thing more definite to say : as yet the point is not decided, and so it 
may even remain, though I do not expect this. I beg prayers of 
every one who will pray for me. And, dear William, do not worry 
yourself about me : you see this is not an avowed certainty as yet, 
and come what will I am in Better Hands than either yours or my 
own ; I desire to realize and to rest in this. 



i86 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To Lucy Rossetti, Bourtieinouth. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

23 \_May 1892]. 
My dear Lucy, 

I know our dearest William has written to you about me, 
and I think you may conceive too gloomy an idea of my position. 
As to pain, I have felt none worth speaking of, but it seems that it 
would not be prudent so to trust to this merciful circumstance as to 
neglect the step now to be taken, and about which I expect to know 
nothing under influence of ether. I dare say a cheerful view of me 
will be entertained by the time you return home, but I earnestly 
hope you will not leave the delightful seaside whilst it promises to do 
you good. We are keeping this anxiety from Aunt Eliza, who sends 
you love, and whom I join in love to Helen and Mary. Various 
kind souls will remember me in prayer, and each one who joins the 
praying band confers on me a favour beyond money and beyond 
price. I have asked the prayers of the congregation at my Church, 
but without my name being given out, as I deprecate getting into 
" paragraphs," and these are so in vogue nowadays. 



To Lucy Rossetti, London. 

[As soon as she had rallied a little from the surgical operation my 
sister went to Brighton with a professional nurse ; I joined her there 
in a day or two.] 

17 BRUNSWICK ROAD, BRIGHTON. 

Tpjune 1892. 

My dear Lucy, 

What a truly kind letter yours is, and how long I have 
delayed answering it. And how shall I excuse myself to you by 
pleading weakness when you are suffering from the same cause, or 
occupations when my one must be set against your dozen ? But you 
are accustomed to overlook my shortcomings, and once more I beg 
you to do so and to reserve a nook in your heart for me. . . . 

I am making steady progress, and look forward to returning home 



1892— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 187 

next Tuesday comparatively well. Thank you for the invaluable 
loan of William ; he transforms our enforced expedition into quite a 
holiday. He is everything that is kind and tolerant— but you know 
him at least as well as I do ! 

One of my " occupations " is to lie down ! Another is to write 
letters. Another is to go out in a chair. Shall I reckon breakfasting 
in bed as an occupation ? You see I am not over-exacting towards 
myself. 

To Lucy Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

13 IJiily 1892]. 

My dear Lucy, 

I want to hear all about you all when this anxious week is 
over. I hope Olive and Arthur are not overstraining their excellent 
wits ; if only they could share their old aunt's philosophy, and realize 
that not one triumph at a particular moment but the treasure amassed 
of useful and delightful knowledge must prove the permanent boon ! 
Meanwhile despite philosophy I wish them success. . . . 

Now that I am at home again it is satisfactory to resume my quiet 
round of not difficult duties. Strong I cannot as yet profess to feel, 
and I am still being fed up and breakfasting luxuriously in bed, 
against which self-indulgence may be set a daily walk of more or less 
brevity. . . . 

To William Rossettl 

[The book referred to at the opening of this letter is that capital 
volume by Canon Moore, Da^ite and his Early Biographers.'] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[I9////J/ 1892.] 

My dear William, 

At length with thanks for pleasure I return Dr. Moore's 
little book, which instead of being dreary is even sparkling at proper 
moments. My frivolous mind dwells delighted on the note on the 



i88 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

authorship of the Iliad and Odyssey, also on the remark that happy 
was it that Dante taught (?) Greek before the epoch of examinations. 
Filelfo too is treated amusingly. Abandoning such gems, — does any 
one dispute the existence of Beatrice Bardi, nata Portinari? I 
should fancy the point of any such controversy might be limited to 
the question of her identity or otherwise with the surnameless 
Beatrice of Dante's immortalization : and if so Boccaccio's Lectures 
would appear explicable, whether or not he simply meant what he on 
the surface said. You see, all too late I am being sucked into the 
Dantesque vortex. 

Now abandoning my voci alte however fioche I turn to matters of 
to-day. I am wanting news of you all ; especially I want to know 
that your entire caravan is going somewhere, and further where that 
somewhere is. . . . It is a comfort to reflect that the Oxford Senior 
Exam, is at last over : I hope Olive and Arthur are justly sanguine 
of results, and I congratulate them on not having had Dante for 
Greek tutor. . . . 

What unexpected money do you think has accrued to me ? 
;^i2. 6. 6. from Maria's Exercises and Aneddoti. When in 1886 I 
wrote to ascertain (for probate) value of copyright, I was informed 
no value : but I think it was in that very year — see " statement " 
from Williams and Norgate — that the works cleared themselves and 
began to yield a profit. . . . 



To Lucy Rossetti, Malvern Wells. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[1892 — ? 17 August. "^ 

My dear Lucy, 

. . . Aunt Eliza quite enjoyed William's conversation 
yesterday, and you will know whether I appreciated a sight of him. 
He tells me of Olive's and Arthur's success in chemistry, which I 
hope will be followed up by success in the wider Examination. The 
babies of yesterday are the sages of to-day ! I wonder if Helen has 
been reading some of my old favourite Turguenieffs : I fancy the 
first of his which I read was Lisa translated by our old friend Mr. 
Ralston. Le Roi Lear de la Steppe I greatly admired, but Gabriel 



1892— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 189 

did not quite agree with me. Moue-moue was consummate, but so 
fearfully painful. I hope dear Helen will not appraise life quite 
according to any such pessimistic standard, but will use her great 
gifts to better purpose. . . . 

I am still decidedly weak, — but no wonder. Nurse gives me her 
arm, and so I manage a little air and exercise. To-day is a superb 
summer day. 

To William Rossetti. 

[The request made by The Graphic must evidently have been that 
Christina would sit for, or would supply, a portrait of herself, to be 
published in that paper. With this note Christina sent me also a 
full-sized review, extracted from the Rock, of The Face of the Deep. 
The suggestion in that review, that she advisedly abstained from 
making her verses good ones in the executive sense, was certainly 
funny. Two answers, both of them true, could have been returned 
by her to that suggestion : — i. The verses are good ; 2. If they were 
bad, the only reason would be that I could do them no better.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[9 November 1892.] 

My dear William, 

All my enclosures alike are not wanted back. . . . The 
note from The Graphic (name of Editor I could not make out) I 
have negatived, but referred him to an Elliot and Fry of '77. — The 
review is a pleasing one, laudatory to a high degree, — yet I am 
surprised to see the suggestion that (perhaps as a devout self-denial) 
I forbore to make my verse as good as I could : neither as praise nor 
as blame do I deserve the imputation. 

Love to Lucy who I wish may be facing these foglets scatheless. 
And love all round. 



To William Rossetti. 

[Mr. Lawson was the surgeon who in May 1892 performed the 
operation for cancer on Christina. He now gave a reassuring 
opinion, but it had to be set aside all too soon. — " Mr. Scott's book " 
is the Autobiographical Motes of W. B. Scott. As is well known, 



igo CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

that book contains some harsh, and not always accurate, remarks 
about Dante Rossetti : Christina, through my information, was aware 
of this fact, and she preferred to leave the book unread. — "The 
verse-vol, scheme," referred to in Christina's postscript, was the 
scheme, which I had proposed to her, that the poems contained in 
her various books published by the Society for Promoting Christian 
Knowledge should all be collected together into one volume. This 
was done, in the volume entitled Verses, 1893.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[29 November 1892.] 

My dear William, 

Please go shares with my kind Lucy. Mr. Lawson has just 
been (apparently of his own accord, and simply as a friendly call I 
accepted it) and, at his own request of course, made an examination. 
With a joyful result. He inclines to think that there is nothing but 
what is otherwise and quite satisfactorily explicable at the suspected 
point, and even on the contrary supposition impresses upon most 
willing me that in his opinion nothing is to be done — now ; perhaps 
he means ever, but of this I am not sure. He will himself see Mr. 
Stewart to-night, and was altogether as amiable as possible. Knowing 
how affectionately Lucy and you feel for me, I write at once so that 
this may reach you before you start for Somerset House. 

In last night's St. James's Gazette there was a rather long article 
on Mr. Scott's book, pleasant and laudatory and containing nothing 
obnoxious. 

Love all round. . . . 

Writing to Mr. McClure I mentioned the verse-vol. scheme, and 
referred to you. 

To William Rossetti. 

[The "illustrated Goblin Market'^ must be the one designed by 
Mr. Laurence Housman. The other, proposed by Mr. Kegan Paul, 
cannot have come to anything. Mr. Housman's designs are the 
work of a very clever artist : but they did not correspond to Christina's 
notions, and I remember that, in sending me a copy of the book, 
she wrote on the wrapper the single word " Alas."] 



1893— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 191 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

30 \December 1892]. 

My dearest William, 

Your card received this morning brightens a foggy world ! 
My love to dear Lucy, with my earnest wishes for her recovery, and 
especially for that first stage of recovery which may enable her to ex- 
change London for some promising spot, perhaps Bournemouth 
which is not so very far to reach. I fully believe in Olive's nursing- 
powers, and I know what you yourself are in a sick room. Our 
nurse tells me that there is an admirable doctor at Bournemouth 
who succeeded in a case of the same kind after I know not how many 
London doctors had failed. ... / am quite shut up again, though 
with all precautions fairly well : but it happened that (supposing it 
the right thing) I went out a few steps on the 24th, and after getting 
back was taken with such a fit of gasping breathlessness that Mr. 
Stewart ordered me not to attempt another sally till this severe cold 
has abated. . . . 

How oddly things happen ! I told you of an illustrated Goblin 
Market sent me not very long ago with an eye to permission to 
publish it : now I have had a letter from Mr. Kegan Paul with the 
same or a similar scheme, and proposing to issue it for next Christ- 
mas, I to go shares in profits : but I fear my having to refer him to 
Macmillans for joint-sanction has put an end to the plan. 

A friend has sent me Tennyson Land which possibly you may like 
to look at. 

Love to our dear four. . . . 

You know Goblin Market has been out these 30 years ! ! 



To William Rossetti. 

[Christina's acquaintance with Madox Brown must have begun 
not only before she was twenty (as she here says) but soon before she 
was eighteen. — The kitten who " made the Y of our childhood " 
was probably one (a semi-Persian) dubbed Muff, whom I was glad to 
house between the date of Christina's death and that of Muff's own : 
or else it was an offspring of Muff. The " Y " was a pose, with 



192 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

outstretched fore-paws, of which (as assumed by a tabby of my very 
early recollection) I made some passing mention in my Memoir of 
Dante Rossetti^ 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

2 \January\ 1893. 

My dear William, 

This is my first letter this year, and is charged with deepest 
and widest good wishes to Lucy, yourself, and your four. Keen as 
the cold is, I yet hope that the vanishing of fog may favour our dear 
patient. . . . 

Thankyou for your dear little card received on new year's eve : 
so much of my heart is yours that you may be sure of my sympathy. 
The " gasping " seems to have been brought on simply by my having 
gone out at an ill-chosen moment, and nothing of the sort has re- 
curred. You know how glad I shall be to see you, but I do not 
even wish it before all circumstances favour my indulgence : it is a 
treat to talk over things with you, the head of my house and my 
natural adviser. 

Some days ago I received 6 copies of my 2nd ed. Face of the 
Deep, a corrected ed. much to my satisfaction. 

A card of kind remembrance came on Saturday from Mr. Madox 
Brown. What a steady old friend he is : to me a very old friend 
as I knew him before I was 20. 

I am turned doctor myself ! rubbing a kitten who appears weak 
(to say the least) in the hind legs with camphorated oil. Yesterday 
I flattered myself that the treatment afforded some promise of 
amendment. Such a pretty kitten, with such a rich fur. And it 
stood up yesterday at the fender and made the Y of our childhood ! 



To William Rossetti, Boscombe. 

[Mr. McClure was (and I think still is) the Secretary of the 
Christian Knowledge Society. Christina was now performing a 
"slavish copying" of her various poems scattered throughout publi- 
cations of this Society, with a view to compiling her book, published 
in 1893, entitled Verses?^ 



-TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 



193 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

8 February 1893. 
My dear William, 

I am heartily glad to hear from you, but not at all 
discontented at not having heard sooner. . . . 

I was approved of by Mr. Stewart yesterday : to my discom- 
fiture he has added a daily glass of port wine to all my eats and 
drinks. As I am always seeing him I am defenceless against these 
enactments. . . . 

One afternoon came Mr. McClure with his wife. He tells me 
that my last book sold beyond what was anticipated, so that the 
second ed. was not out quite in time to meet the demand. Very 
grand. I am getting on with my slavish copying of the verses for the 
S.P.C.K. . . . 



To William Rossetti, London. 

[Christina had in conversation proposed to dedicate to me her 
forthcoming volume. Verses. I had expressed some doubt as to 
whether this could be deemed appropriate : a doubt essentially based 
on the consideration that her intensely devotional Christian poems 
ought hardly to be dedicated to any one who did not share the same 
beliefs in full.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[10 March 1893.] 

My dear William, 

. . . Since we talked about it I have come to the conclusion 
that very likely you were right in hesitating to accept the dedication 
of my reprint. But, if so, I shall leave it undedicated ; and you and 
I will know that in my heart thus it stands : — 

To my dearest Brother 

William Michael Rossetti 

I commend these verses. 

I have not yet completed the printers' copy, but am far on 

with it. . . . 



194 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To William Rossetti. 

[About this time my wife had a frightful attack of illness with 
blood-spitting &c. : for three or four days, each day seemed likely to 
be her last. "Drizzarsi in sullo stelo " means "to straighten on the 
stem." — Sir Robert Micks was the Secretary (Excise Branch) in the 
Inland Revenue Office. I did not succeed him as Secretary, but 
continued for a short while to be Assistant Secretary. — The 8th and 
9th April were the anniversaries of my mother's and my brother's 
death. — Mrs. R[ussell] Gurney's book related to Dante.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

13 April 1893. 

My dear William, 

I assure you I am sharing your anxiety for our dear Lucy. 
My love to her and every best wish I can form. This return of 
wintry cold — though tempered by such warming sunshine — makes 
me hope that we are now in "blackthorn winter"; and that before 
so very long these trying winds may cease, allowing flowers in general, 
and especially our own Flower de Luce, to drizzarsi in sullo stelo. . . . 

What a burden double work at Somerset House must just 
now be upon you. I noticed in the paper that Sir Robert Micks is 
about retiring. I fear it is a phantom hope to foresee you as his 
successor : but of course I wish it, were it merely to augment your 1 1 
superannuation. 

How nice of you to recollect me in the midst of such engrossing 
thoughts. Mr. Stewart wished me to see Mr. Lawson again, and 
to-day they held consultation. The result is that the state of my 
heart would render an operation too hazardous : but for this bar, 
I suppose one might have been judged advisable, as some mischief is 
going on, but happily slowly. So you see there is nothing to debate 
about at present, "and underneath are the Everlasting Arms." I 
continue to like Mr. Lawson, and am glad to escape the heavy 
expense of an operation and its context. 

Did you remember the 8th and 9th of this month? The loth also 
was the anniversary of our parents' wedding day. — I have begun the 
Memoir of James Smetham and like it, also I like Mrs. R. Gurney's 
book so far. 1 



i893— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 195 



To William Rossetti. 

[Mr. G. Somes Layard was at this time preparing a book named 
Tennyson and his Fneraphaelite Illustrators. I do not recollect ever 
seeing Mr. Kitton's article.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[19 April 1893.] 

My dear William, 

. . . Please if possible give my love and very best wishes 
to Lucy. If ever it would give her the slightest pleasure to see me 
pray let me know : I should be afraid of startling her were I to 
present myself unexpectedly, as I am such an exceptional pheno- 
menon; but under encouragement I dare say I could manage the 
transit in a cab. . . . 

Of course the serious point remains un<:hanged, and I do not 
expect any more investigation for an undefined period. The only 
occasional pain continues so trifling that if I called it discomfort 
instead of pain it might give you a more accurate impression ; and 
in other ways I am quite tolerable. 

I have heard from a Mr. Layard about Gabriel's Tennyson 
illustrations; but, as he tells me he has already heard from you who 
are so much better an authority, my customary ignorance will not 
signify. Also from a Mr. Kitton who is concocting an article on the 
pets of " celebrities " : but here again I had sadly Uttle to say beyond 
the cat who made a Y. 



To William Rossetti. 

[Eliza Polidori, the last stage of whose illness is announced in 
this note, died on 4 June, aged eighty-three. This left Christina 
the sole tenant in the Torrington Square house.] 

[2jtme 1893.] 

My dear William, 

A thousand thanks for your brotherliness. . . . 
I am glad to write this afternoon, as I must tell you that good Aunt 
Eliza is lying in a very precarious state. Should my next letter even 



196 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

bear a black border you must not be surprised. She is insensible, which 
Mr. Stewart attributes to an access of brain-mischief: so far as 
appears the case at this time, she would neither see you nor know of 
your presence even were you at her bedside, — so it was when I was 
in her room half-an-hour or so ago. Happily Mr. Stewart spoke 
positively this morning of her being free from suffering, and please 
understand that he has not given her over in talking to me. 



To William Rossetti. 

[As a last (and fruitless) effort for health, my wife, with our three 
daughters, left London for Pallanza on 3 October. — Madox Brown 
was too truly "a frequent sufferer" : but he had not much oftener to j 
suffer, for on 6 October he died. His pictures sent to Chicago did 
not come in for a prize.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

4 October 1893. 

My dear William, 

Thank you warmly for letting me know. Anxious and 
painful as is the step, I cannot but be glad that poor Lucy has at 
last set off with her flock. I hope the journey will be accomplished 
safely, and Pallanza prove a suitable sojourn. You know I called 
and saw Lucy last week? I did not like her to leave England 
without my at least trying to see her once more, and when I got 
to your house she consented to admit me. As to looks she quite 
surpassed my expectation, but I know that looks are not always 
to be depended upon. I am glad also to have seen all your 
children. . . . 

After all I have sent Mr. Swinburne a " reprint " avowedly from 
myself. The S.P.CK. bestowed on me a 2nd half-dozen, so I set 
aside manoeuvring. 

Will you be quite sick of my begging a Gabriel autograph ? It 
is now one of Mrs. Bull's (Bessie Read that was) daughters who 
desiderates one. 

I have just been reading the Epic of Hades, and do not care 
about it. Do you know that this month's Magazine of Art contains 
Gabriel's Veronica Veronese in photogravure ? So I saw announced. 



1893— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 197 

Poor Mr. Brown, what a frequent sufferer he is. When I see you 
I want to know whether his pictures received one of the Chicago 
prizes. I saw " Fred Brown " in a hst of prizemen, and thought it 
might possibly misrepresent him. 



To William Rossettl 

[The " handsome cheque " must have been money due to Christina 
from the copyrights &c. of Dante Gabriel. The rest of her note 
refers to Madox Brown : he, however, had died on the preceding 
day.] 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

7 October 1893. 

My dear William, 

I head with that startling stamp because I once understood 
that, even to acknowledge receipt of a present or of one's own money, 
such was the intention of the revenue — or perhaps I should rather 
say such was its theoretic ideal. Thank you for the handsome 
cheque, which of course shall lie by for the present. I well know 
the run on ready money at such moments, and would gladly act 
banker up to ;^ 100 for that most kind old friend : please remember 
this in case of need, although of course ostensibly you would supply 
the funds. Even if my advance were lost it would not half repay 
the kindnesses of other days. 

Your last letter shows that you had abandoned hope. I have 
seen such amazing rallies that I do not yet feel certain, but that is 
all 1 can say. I am hoping for a word of news again to-night. Your 
report of Lucy so far ought to cheer us and make us thankful, but I 
fear what effect this shock may have upon her. 



To William Rossetti. 

[In consequence of Madox Brown's death, and of my great un- 
certainty as to the demands which might be made on his survivors 
(principally Mrs. Cathy Hueffer), I thought it would be desirable to 
have some cash in hand to meet their requirements — I was not under 
any personal responsibility. Christina (as her last letter shows) had 
already volunteered to advance ;;^ioo. I, probably before receiving 



198 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

that letter, had started a query as to ;j{j2oo, and she produced that 
amount. — Miss Lisa Wilson, a very accomplished lady, was one of 
Christina's most intimate friends in her closing years, and my 
daughters and I continue to enjoy her acquaintance.] 



Dt ! 

.1 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

7 October 1893. 

My dear William, 

I do not think your letter sounds unfeeling. Do not 
fancy it. 

Perhaps you already have mine of this afternoon in which 
volunteered a loan (or in case of ultimate need a gift) of ;;^ioo. 
But I can instantly and without the slightest inconvenience send you 
a cheque for £,200 out of my current account. Beyond this I have jj 
just laid by ^200 in the Freehold, which is an investment on which 
I constantly draw on occasion ; not like my other investments sup- 
posed to be permanent. So let me feel that one point of your harass 
is allayed. I would send you the cheque in this letter if I knew you j 1 
wanted it at once, and I only wait to hear exactly what you wish * ' 
done. I quite agree with you as to the probable lack of funds for 
some time to come, and I feel that I am the proper person to look 
some up. 

But about poor Lucy is alas a difficulty utterly beyond my power 
to cope with. I feel with you the incalculability of what effect such 
painful news may take upon her, frail as she is. I hope she is at 
Pallanza ere this, and so may have caught the alarm from your letters 
before the final blow falls on her. My poor dear William, I wish I 
could comfort you. . . . 

Already a friend (Lisa Wilson) has seen the death announced in 
the Standard, and expresses herself very feelingly, for she knows how 
delicate our Lucy is. . . . 



To William Rossetti. ). 

[This was written on the day of Madox Brown's funeral — to which 
the opening sentence refers. By " No. i " Christina meant " No. i 
St. Edmund's Terrace," the house in which Brown had died : it was 
separated from my own house by only one intervening dwelling.] 



1893— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 199 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

II October 1 893. 

My dear William, 

It is nearly noon and you may be sure I am not unmindful 
of all to-day brings with it. I am often thinking about Lucy. When 
you can, I dare say I shall be told how she bears what by this time I 
assume her to know. Poor Lucy, I well remember in old days her 
great affection for her Father. I hope the will has come to light 
and put an end to one complication of trouble. Your negativing 
any idea of my attending the funeral truly obliges me : I am glad not 
to have to decline, although I could not have accepted an invitation. 
My love to Cathy if worth giving. 

What you suggest about my becoming tenant of No. i had 
occurred to my own mind, but, unless some special reason leads 
me thither, I do not think it altogether advisable. The house which 
would suit my infirmities would have sitting-rooms on ground-floor, 
bedrooms on ist floor, thus saving me many stairs; so that such a 
cottage as our Grandparents occupied in Park Village East would 
meet my requirements better than a superior house. A number of 
empty rooms too are not merely useless but depressing. However, 
were there a strong motive the other way these drawbacks might be 
overruled, and annual tenancy is very attractive. But common sense 
forbids my scheming for a remote future. You ask about my health : 
there is nothing very particular to report, but the heart still occasion- 
ally makes itself felt, and the other weak point is I suppose gaining 
rather than losing ground. Even now the pain is trifling. Mr. 
Stewart often comes to see me. . . . 

I dare not write to Lucy before being quite sure that she knows 
all. This secured, I should like to send her a word of sympathy if 
you see no objection. 

Love to Arthur. 

To William Rossetti. 

[Dante Rossetti's "burlesque drama" is entitled The Death of 
Topsy {i.e. William Morris). It is amusing, but must, I suppose, 
remain perdu in my hands, not being intended nor yet suitable for 



200 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

publication. — The Inferno which Christina returned was the transla- 
tion by Mr. Musgrave in the Spenserian stanza.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[4 December 1893.] 

My dear William, 

Thank you for errata, which I am sending on to Mr. 
McClure in case they may still be in time. . . . 

Perhaps you have seen ... a further reference to a burlesque 
drama (?) of Gabriel's which he once read us. This was alluded to 
in the St. James's Gazette ; how known of, who knows ? . . . 

Is any book ever absolutely accurate? Kegan Paul says in his 
Preface that he has added 1 7 new poets to his re-issue, whereas on 
careful examination I find (and fail to see any other explanation) 18. 
I should like to know which is correct. . . . 

I return the Inferno with considerable admiration. 



To William Rossetti. 

[Christina's health at this time was in such a condition as to make 
it totally unfitting that she should go to Pallanza. I must no doubt 
have replied to her to this effect, and her doctor, if she consulted 
him, must necessarily and imperatively have forbidden her. — Mr. 
Aldrich was then, and still is, Curator of the Historical Department 
of the State of Iowa, in its capital, Des Moines : a highly estimable 
gentleman well known to me, keen in collecting for his institution 
documents, autographs, and other relics.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[24 December 1893.] 

Mv DEAR William, 

I receive your news into a somewhat heavy heart. That 
you have been ill is in a measure balanced by the joyful announce- 
ment of your being better, — but poor Lucy, I cannot but feel grave 
apprehension. Is it imaginable that my going over could be of any 
use or help or comfort? If so, I would try to get leave to start 



1893— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 201 

(accompanied of course by a nurse) from Mr. Stewart. By the 
beginning of next year I should be in sufficient funds. Yet it seems 
almost mere words to speak of such a plan under actual circumstances, 
my health considered : still, I would certainly ask Mr. S. were there 
an opening. Of course I would not be an expense to my family, and 
perhaps the girls might find some sort of support in the presence 
of one who might be their grandmother. Without Mr. Stewart's 
permission however I should not feel at liberty to go. 

As to the pleasures of Christmas I say nothing. I wish you and 
Arthur (to whom my thanks) and all yours its overflow of blessings. 
Flowers have come to me in profusion, amongst them a box from 
Pallanza. 

I wonder what brought on this fit of gout ; you had been so long 
comparatively free from it : I hope it has not been one of the most 
painful attacks. I too am not at my very best at present, although 
very tolerable and able to get to church to-day. . . . 

I sent Mr. Aldrich 2 specimens of Gabriel's hair : one in the early 
fair stage, the other dark ; both dated. I hope that by this time my 
earlier letters have reached him. 



To William Rossetti. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[29 December 1893.] 

My dear William, 

. . . Don't let expense be the insurmountable difficulty 
if you wish to go to Pallanza : of course, if I could have man- 
aged my own journey thither, I could be your banker as well or 
better. . . . 

Mrs. Garnett called one day and told me that by Christmas there 
was no meeting the demand for Verses : at one considerable shop 
she tried at she heard that twenty or thirty applications had had 
to be negatived for the moment. I wish the new edition may now 
be out, but I have not heard. 

I wrote to Lucy at Christmas, merely a sisterly letter, not I hope 
one in any way to try her. . . . 



CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



To William Rossetti, San Eemo. 

[From Pallanza my wife went to Genoa, and then to San Remo. 
On 19 March I received a telegram showing her to be almost at the 
last gasp ; so on the following day, accompanied by my son, I started 
for San Remo. Lucy, though she had once more rallied in a certain 
sense, was at that time far past any hope of recovery or improvement : 
she continued alive and suffering up to 12 April. It was a kind 
thought of Christina to commission our family-doctor, Mr. Gill, to 
go over to San Remo, if wanted by the patient. But there was truly 
nothing to be done, beyond what a young Italian physician, Dr. 
Ansaldi, supplied by his daily and judicious attendance. My wife 
and all of us appreciated this gentleman highly.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

[26 March 1894.] 

My dear William, 

Cathy very kindly brought me round your and Olive's 
letters to-day, so now I know how you all are suffering and in 
suspense. Be sure you are in my heart and thoughts. May I 
send love to Lucy? as well as to the rest. 

Is it possible that you (or that dear Lucy herself in any degree) 
are wishing you could see Mr. Gill ? If so and if you would allow 
me, I could and would help as far as ;^ioo. But if there is no 
feeling of the sort do not trouble yourself to allude to this. I am 
very tolerable to-day. 



To William Rossetti, San Remo. 

30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

2 April 1894. 

Mv DEAR William, 

Welcome was your card last Saturday morning. I think 
the account to the full as good as could be looked for after what has 
passed, although of course with the limitation you indicate. . . . 

Longmans have written to me on the subject of a 3/6 Shadow of 
Dante, and I suppose they will issue one in their Silver Library 



1894— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 203 

series as I left the decision to them : they would keep on also the 
current ed. but foresee that its sale would be diminished by the 
cheaper volume. I hear also of a third ed. of my Verses, S.P.C.K, 
I have had a visit this morning from Mary Cayley (Arthur Cayley's 
daughter) and was glad to hear news of the family. Sophie and 
Henrietta Cayley (her aunts whom you may remember) died some 
years ago within no very prolonged period of each other. Profr. 
Cayley himself is a good deal of an invalid, at least for the present : 
his wife sent me some pretty daffodils which now adorn my table. 
Henry Cayley, the son, looked in and fetched his sister and is very 
tall : I understand that he is studying architecture. . . . 



To William Rossetti, San Re7no. 

[I cannot remember about the " Httle papers " which Christina was 
"trying to write" : one might surmise, something for publication, but 
I question this. Neither have I any knowledge of the affair of Mr. 
John Shelley ; nor of the name of Rosamond Martin.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. 

9 April 1894. 

My dearest William, 

You may think how much my thoughts are with you all. 
My love to dear Lucy, and thanks for love sent me by you. . . . 
They have been doing up this Square really prettily just now, and I 
have been remembering the pleasant days when you and yours were 
all staying here, and Helen and Mary frequented the enclosure, 
and we used to muster cheerfully round a ham ! I hope Lucy will 
be equal to accepting my love and to knowing how often I think 
of her. . . 

I forgot in my last to thank my nieces for a box of flowers, and 
I do so now with my love. Here is a dried heartsease : I wish I 
could send you its sentiment as well as itself. That the girls are not 
quite downcast is really to be rejoiced at ; but I can fancy its effect 
on you. 

I have just finished certain little papers I told you I was trying to 
write, and to-day I hope to have them posted. It is a good thing 



204 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

really to do what I have to do now. I go on extremely tolerably, 
yet I think with a gradual downward tendency. 

Not long ago a Mr. John Shelley sent me a little Latin book with 
an amiable letter. Would he be one of the Shelleys ? He wrote 
from Plymouth. . . . 

" Rosamond Martin " writes from Chesham that a perform- 
ance of my Pageant is preparing for a charitable purpose. She 
mentions her mother as authoress of several novels, but I do not 
recognize the name. . . . 



To William Rossetti, London, 

[This is a reply to a brief letter which I wrote to Christina imme- 
diately after returning to London, consequent upon my wife's death 
at San Remo. Her will had left her separate property, including the 
house'3 St. Edmund's Terrace, to our children under trusteeship.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, W.C. 

[18 April 1894.] 

My dear William, 

At least it is a comfort and great matter for thankfulness 
that you are all safely back again. Be sure my heart is with you in 
your grief, desolation, and general harass and anxiety. Every word 
of your letter is full of interest to me : I am glad that poor Lucy's 
last day was of diminished rather than of increased suffering. I 
already knew from Mr. Stewart how costly an undertaking the 
removal from San Remo to London would have been, but I can 
understand the pang it cost you to leave so beloved a person 
behind. . . . 

I will not venture to say that I regret anything in Lucy's 
will, and I will not suppose it possible that any trouble can arise 
about the house. If for any reason you should wish entirely to 
recast your plans, I remind you that mine are wholly unsettled, 
and that, if any combination with me would help towards an 
arrangement, it seems probable that I should be available — avail- 
able, that is, if life lasts so long. But, if not, I have the comfort 
of knowing that your income would be increased. 



i894— TO WILLIAM ROSSETTI 205 

Do not suppose by this that I have fresh reason to anticipate 
a speedy end, but you and I know how precarious is all life and 
how doubly precarious mine has become. Mr. Stewart detects 
progress of the mischief, but I understand slow progress. And 
now put me out of your dear old thoughts so far as to feel that 
I can contentedly wait till you have heart and leisure to look me 
up : you will not, I think, distort this sentence into meaning that 
I do not care to see you ! 

My love to my nieces and nephew. I recollect that Mary's 
birthday is next Sunday, but perhaps you might come before 
then; otherwise I may get a P.O. 



To William Rossetti. 

[This note is of interest to me as being the last that I received 
from my sister, written with her own hand. The next following 
(and final) one was dictated to her nurse Harriett Read. " The 
Portfolio^' must be the monograph on Dante Rossetti written by 
our old friend Frederic G. Stephens. The present note is an ob- 
servably good specimen of Christina's always good handwriting.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE, LONDON, VV.C. 

[21 June 1894.] 

My dear William, 

I have just finished reading with much interest the Portfolio 
you lent me. I have made a few notes on points here and there 
which I hope to submit to you when next we meet : after that, I 
shall be ready to return the NQ. 

This lovely summer day revives the world, — I hope it revives you. 
I am not very bright, but quite tolerable all considered. Eczema 
much better if not almost gone. 

Love all round your circle. 



To William Rossetti. 

[The details in this note were sent for the purpose of keeping me 
correct in the Memoir of D. G. Rossetti, which I was then writing. 



2o6 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

Christina's recollection of old family-facts was more precise than 
mine, and was noticeably accurate. Her last sentence, however, is a 
little jumbled, as she and our mother (not as yet our father) had gone 
down to Frome before 27 April 1853.] 



30 TORRINGTON SQUARE. 

10 August [1894]. 

My dear William, 

You and Maria stayed in Arlington Street some time 
after we had left — till I believe Christmas 1853. I think you 
were only one quarter at Burcham's, and certainly we all rejoined 
company about Lady-day in Upper Albany Street. Our parents 
and I settled at Frome not long after the 27th of April 1853, ^t 
which date our Grandmother died. Glad to be of use. 



^^U^ l/ukA- /7o-t^ y^r^-cy ^^Trr7,^,-ce^A.^k^ ^^.fit^^Oy 










yi/yi^tj' 4i^Uj-cy U^H>cy ^/l-^^^^y 'j^^^^-y ? 








yj 



^'^iByc/h a^^TT^ ^^ cZZ- ^ ML. i/^ fxnz^/- ■^^^-c.<lJ li^'c.CyC^, 
yfi^ /uy^A.At^ /afsuy l^ ^jOJiM-e^^ry ^ VtZ.fJt4Lej £yfWy . 

Facsimile of a Poem by Christina Rossetti. 

[ To face p. 206. 



APPENDIX— WILLIAM ROSSETTI 207 



APPENDIX 



I. Extracts from the Diary of William M. Rossetti, 1871-95. 

I. February 18. Locker and Cincinnatus Miller, a Californian 
whom Locker made known to me, also Stillman, came to 
Euston Square : the former two were introduced to Christina, 
whom they more especially wished to know. 
, April 25. Christina has for some days past been suffering 
from neuralgia (so her doctor says), and looking very much out 
of condition. Dr. Jenner advises her to get change of air. 

May 5. Christina's illness still extremely serious ; I feel more 
alarmed about it to-day than heretofore. Sir William Jenner 
says there is " no immediate danger," and at his late visit to-day 
reassured Mamma a little — but only a little. He orders 
Christina to keep her bed strictly, which I have thought for 
several days would be the best thing ; hitherto she has got up 
regularly, but done little or nothing more, save lying on the 
sofa. 

May 15. Obtained some specimens of the wood-designs of 
F. A. Eraser, whom Dalziels propose for illustrating Christina's 
book \_Singsong\. I don't think him, from the evidence of these 
designs, at all a desirable man. Wrote to Dalziels to say so, 
and strongly recommended that Hughes should be invited. 

June 6. To-day, at last, Christina was sufficiently convalescent 
to be moved off to Hampstead — 17 Christ Church Roadj the 
doctor wishes her to go on to the sea-side pretty soon. 

July 20. Mamma and Christina returned to-day from 
Hampstead. Christina has certainly made some degree of 
progress, though still far from set-up in health. 

October 19. Brown called. I showed him the proofs of 
Christina's Singsong, with Hughes's illustrations. He was 
singularly pleased with both ; going so far as to say that the 
poems are about Christina's finest things, and Hughes the first 
of living book-illustrators. 



2o8 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



1 87 1. October 26. Christina (whose health continues unsatisfactory, 
though much less bad than during the spring and summer) 
consulted Dr. Fox to-day. He says that the circulation is out 
of order, and prescribes digitalis. 

„ November 5. Dr. Wilson Fox called to see Christina, who 
has been particularly unwell these two days. He does not 
seem to consider her state different from what it was before, 
but has made some modification in the digitalis medicine. He 
says that the external swelling in her throat (he does not define it 
by any particular name) is a sort of thing prevalent in some parts 
of England — as for instance Derbyshire ; also that it has nothing 
to do with the difficulty in swallowing, which is now one of the 
most troublesome details of Christina's illness. This, he says, 
depends upon spasmodic nervous action. He says nothing as 
to the probable duration of the swelling. 

„ November 13. Brown's family and Hughes dined at Cheyne 
Walk. . . . Hughes says that the illustrating of Christina's book 
took up his whole time for a while. At first he worked tolerably 
leisurely, but after a certain time Dalziels asked him to furnish 
ten designs per week : he furnished twenty the first time. 

„ November 16. Poor Christina continues in a very deplorable 
state. Besides her two standing maladies, both of which seem 
for the time to be kept tolerably in abeyance, she has the 
external lump on the throat, which shows no signs of going, and 
of late a sort of fluttering at the heart {7Wi, it would seem, regular 
palpitation of the heart, or other definite heart-disease) which 
incommodes her, producing a kind of stifling or fainting tendency 
from time to time, compelling her to desist from any occupation, 
and lie down. She often passes bad nights, which seldom 
befell her heretofore. Frequent headaches of a very aggravated 
kind are another trouble : these she thinks are mitigated by the 
early tea with brandy which the doctor makes her take. He 
calls the heart-symptoms " accelerated circulation." As regard 
appearance, she is a total wreck for the present, and I greatly 
fear this change may prove permanent ; her hair also comes off in 
a distressing way, and she expects to have to take to caps almost 
immediately. . . . With all these disasters — and she is fully 
alive to every one of them — her spirits are not so bad as might 
have been expected ; she shows a really admirable constancy, 
and the worst shafts of Fate find her their equal. Another of 
Christina's troubles now is the continual shaking of her hands. 
This has quite spoiled her handwriting, which is so shaky now 
that it might be the work of a woman of 75. 






APPENDIX— WILLIAM ROSSETTI 209 

187 1. November 18. Christina's book, Singsong, was sent to her 
to-day. The general publication of it will take place, I under- 
stand, within two or three days. It oug/ii to be a great selling 
success, and even perhaps may he. She is to get 10 per cent. 
on every copy sold ; it seems there is no stipulation as to any 
conjuncture at which this Arrangement would terminate. 

„ November 24. Dr. Fox, having called again to see Mamma, 
entered into some details regarding Christina's illness. The 
thing that is essentially the matter with her now is connected 
with the heart (as previously indicated), though not amounting 
strictly to heart-disease. The swelling outside the throat and 
other symptoms depend on this same malady. It is a very rare 
one : so rare that Dr. Fox has seen only two cases of it (one 
of which he treated successfully), and Sir William Jenner, I 
understand, has also only seen two cases. Sir William has 
concurred in the treatment of Christina as conducted as yet by 

^ Dr. Fox. 

„ November 25. Sir William Jenner (just back from Balmoral) 
visited Christina, and gave minute attention to her case. He 
confirms what Dr. Fox said about the complaint, and adds that 
there is a change in the colour of the skin-pigment ; this indeed 
is sufficiently evident, though I had not noticed it as going 
beyond what might be ascribed to Christina's extreme thinness 
now, and depressed condition of health. Jenner clearly regards 
the case as a serious one, and says Christina ought not to go up 
and down stairs, in the present state of her heart, but should be 
confined to one floor. She has for this fortnight or more been 
sleeping in the same room as Mamma, the back drawing-room. 
She will now therefore restrict herself to the back and front 
drawing-rooms. 

„ December 11. Swinburne complimented Maria very warmly 
on her book upon Dante, and is (as a letter of his had 
shown us some days ago) most enthusiastic about Christina's 
book. 

„ December 14. Dr. Fox saw Christina again to-day, and 
pronounces her progressively and even considerably improving. 
To-day, indeed — for the first time to any serious extent — she 
strikes me as looking decidedly not quite so miserable in the 
face. There seems some little diminution of the thinness, 
starting eyes, &c. 

1872. March 16. Christina is miserably exhausted now, as to all 
such matters as appetite, strength, &c., causing us all grave 
anxiety; yet it seems that the lump outside the throat has 

14 



2IO CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

diminished, and tlie spasmodic difficulty in swallowing is also 
less. 
1872. March 21. Sir William Jenner called again. He told Maria 
that the disease Christina suffers from, exophthalmic broncho- 
cele, is one from which the patient more generally recovers : 
the chief danger is exhaustion. Of this, unfortunately, there 
have been of late very distressing symptoms in Christina — 
almost total want of appetite, prostration of strength, and very 
frequent vomiting. The last was particularly bad yesterday. 

„ April 16. Maria says that, having to-day seen Christina's 
throat uncovered, she was agreeably surprised to find how very 
much the external swelling (once so large) has diminished. 
One might now almost take the throat for its natural shape ; 
the discolouration is also less marked. 

„ April 21. The doctors recommend Christina to keep her bed 
(which, indeed, I have frequently thought and said would be 
the better course); and, as she can't take natural nourishment 
at ordinary times, they direct that every two hours, day and 
night, unless she is asleep, she shall take some small modicum 
of food. 

„ May I. Christina's illness seems to have taken rather a 
peculiar effect on her mind. It necessarily diminishes her 
powers of continuous attention, but appears to have disposed 
her in some increased degree to reading books conveying some 
sort of positive knowledge, such as history — all of which class 
of reading has been almost wholly neglected by her all her 
lifetime. She has just got Mamma to read through to her 
Southey's Life of Nelson^ and is herself reading Goldsmith's 
History of Greece — neither of them certainly a work of arid or 
profound learning, but still the sort of thing that Christina 
has mostly steered clear of as yet. She thinks of reading 
^ Herodotus. 

„ May 15. We felt very uneasy about Christina all the earlier 
part of the day, as, although she had slept well in the night, 
she was in a terribly low condition, accompanied with frequent 
vomitings. Sir William Jenner called again, without saying 
anything very particular. In the later part of the evening 
Christina had revived to some extent, and seemed pretty 
much at her usual level, and she again passed a good night. 
I have great apprehensions as to the result, however — perhaps 
at no distant date — for there seems to be no real rally of 
physical energy now for months past, and the process of 
exhaustion proceeds with fatal and frightful steadiness. What 



APPENDIX— WILLIAM ROSSETTI 211 

shows least trace of disease in Christina now is her voice 
(which had indeed altered some while ago, but that passed off). 
She speaks with much the same tone, animation, and general 
manner, as of old, and with equal readiness on any subject 
that is uppermost, and her strength of mind continues to 
maintain an admirable triumph over all physical suffering and 
prostration. 

1873. January 26. One of the most annoying outward symptoms 
of Christina's illness, the enormous protrusion of the eyes, 
is now very sensibly diminished; this diminution has been 
going on for some while past, but I am more particularly struck 
with the stage it has reached just now. The swelling at the 
throat is also so far subdued as to excite no particular attention 
^"-- when Christina is dressed. 

„ March 19. Joaquin Miller looked me up at Somerset House, 
and left with me the remaining proofs of his forthcoming 
volume. He showed me the dedication, " To the Rossettis." 
I strongly recommended him to write direct to Gabriel as to 
the matter before anything further is done. I mentioned the 
dedication to Christina. She feels some hesitation in sanction- 
ing it, not knowing what the book may contain. If she makes 
up her mind to object, she is to write to Miller. I looked 
through the proofs and noted down some remarks on them. 
They include a series of poems about Christ, named Olive 
Leaves^ implying a sort of religious, or at least personal, 
enthusiasm, mixed up with a good deal that has more relation 
to a sense of the picturesque than of the devotional. These 
poems, though far from worthless from their own point of view, 
are very defective, and would, I think, be highly obnoxious to 
many readers and reviewers. I have suggested to Miller the 
expediency of omitting them altogether. — Christina, I find, has 
already read these particular poems, and to some considerable 
extent likes them, which is so far in their favour as affecting 
religious readers. 

1876. October i. My mother and Christina removed from our 
house, 56 Euston Square, and went to live along with my 
two aunts at 30 Torrington Square. 

1 88 1. December 15. Christina called on Gabriel to-day. She 
found him passive and inclined to doze.^ Marshall has not 
yet appeared, but seemed certain to do so in the course of 
the day. 

1 This was consequent upon that seizure of a quasi-paralytic kind which was one 
of the later stages of Gabriel's fatal illness. 



212 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

1882. February 8. Mamma seems now as well as usual : would like, 
with Christina, to join Gabriel at Birchington, but her doctor, 
Stewart, will not allow her to do this until the weather becomes 
milder. 

„ February 28. Mamma and Christina expect to go down on 
Thursday to Birchington, to stay awhile with Gabriel. I 
mentioned to Christina the proposal made by Ingram — that 
she should contribute to a series of Biographies of Women 
of which he is to be editor, and more especially that she 
should write a life of Adelaide Procter : sum to be paid in 
each instance, ^so. She is quite willing to enter into this 
-> arrangement : does not particularly want to do Adelaide Procter, 
but has no real objection either. Would like to do Mrs. 
Browning,^ which would indeed be highly suitable. Both she 
^ and I will now write to Ingram to settle matters. 

„ September 6. Christina handed me some eight or nine letters 
of Gabriel's addressed to herself^ — all of them belonging to his 
last few months — which she would not mind having published 
if wanted : all others, except perhaps some few handed over 
to Mamma, she destroyed (as I knew must have been the 
case). 

,, October 11. Christina showed me, in a halfpenny magazine 
published by the Society for the Promotion of Christian 
Knowledge, two little sketches she wrote lately narrating facts 
regarding two poor families of her acquaintance, the Meaders 
and Bakers. She completed not long ago a book on The 
Commandments, and it now lies with the same Society for 
' consideration, and one may surmise publication. 

1883. December 7. Another death to which some of us are far 
from indifferent. Christina came to Somerset House, and 
informed me that — as she was told this morning by his brother 
and sister-in-law — Cayley was on Wednesday found dead from 
heart-disease : I would not press her to dwell upon details, so I 
know little of the facts beyond this. I had not been aware that 
Cayley suffered at all from heart-disease, although the settled 
and rather hard high colour in his cheeks may have been 

, symptomatic. The family, it appears, would like some mention 
of Cayley to appear in print. I will most willingly write a 
paragraph for T/ie A/Aenceum, and Lucy seems rather disposed to 

^ This project lapsed. Christina would not write about Mrs. Browning unless 
with the sanction of Robert Browning : and this sanction was not forthcoming — I 
think never asked for. 

^ These letters were handed over with a view to my including them in a volume 
of Gabriel's family-letters. 



APPENDIX— WILLIAM ROSSETTI 213 

forward one for The Times through Hueffer. Cayley was a rare 
model of a retiring, single-minded scholar ; cheerfully absorbed 
in literary, especially semi-philological, studies, and sociable too 
in a shy way — little concerned in anything else. I saw him last 
on this day week, when, on going to Torrington Square, I 
found him taking the fourth hand in a game of whist with the 
family. Had also seen him the preceding day at Somerset 
House, when he called to inquire whether I possessed a certain 
dialogue by Galileo. 
1883. December 8. Lucy went round to Torrington Square, and 
heard from Christina some more details about Cayley. On 
5 December he retired to rest as usual : on the 6th he was 
found dead in his bed, without the slightest trace of any 
struggle or agitation. He is to be buried at Hastings, by his 
mother's side. 

,, December 12. Lucy took round to Christina three notices of 
Cayley which have appeared in newspapers — Times, Daily 
JVe7VS, and Manchester Guardian. It is curious that a large 
proportion of the notices of Cayley (in fact, all that I know of) 
derive from one or other member of our own families. The 
Times was done by Hueffer, at Lucy's suggestion ; Daily News 
from Times ; Afanchester Guardian by, or at the instance of. 
Brown ; and the comparatively long notice which I expect The 
AtJienczum to contain will be mine. 

„ December 18. Christina writes me that Cayley left her by 
will the extant remainders of his published books. 
1886. March i. My mother seems to me a little worse to-day : 
voice less natural and less under control. The doctor (Stewart) 
speaks of a shock to the spine, such as one hears of in railway- 
accidents. Christina bears up with great fortitude and exterior 
cheerfulness. 

„ April 1 1. My dearest mother, the pattern to me of everything 
that is simple, sweet, kind, and noble, died on 8 April at 25 
minutes past noon. She had been unconscious for a couple of 
days or more, and expired in great peace, without any strain or 
agitation. Present — Christina, myself, Stewart the doctor (who 
came in at'the very last moment), and the nurse Annie Jackson, 
whom Christina found exceedingly attentive and agreeable. 

„ April 12. The funeral: the first portion (and most of the 
second) conducted by Rev. Mr. Nash at Christ Church, Woburn 
Square ; second portion repeated at Highgate Cemetery by 
him. My mother lies in the same grave with my father and 
Gabriel's wife. Present in the church — Christina, Eliza, 



214 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

Hueffer, Cathy, and myself; also four or five servants &c., 
including old Sarah Catchpole. In the cemetery, the same 
except Eliza : she returned home to keep company with 
Charlotte, who is utterly weak and ill in bed — I think at 
death's door. In the afternoon Christina produced the will, 
of which she is executrix : it leaves (practically) everything to 
her, save for ;^ioo to me. This I consider right. Christina 
says she wishes to compensate me, when her means allow, for 
her maintenance during the many years when she was sub- 
stantially dependent on me — say 1854 to 1876. She fixes a 
sum of ;^2ooo, which is certainly more than the actual amount. 
I have no serious wish that she should do this — also certainly 
no objection : I therefore expressed my assent. But I don't 
understand that Christina contemplates giving any effect to this 
arrangement at present. She will inherit, I understand, some- 
thing less than ;^4ooo from our mother, and this sum could 
not be cut down in any such way. 

1886. October 4. Christina dined with us — an incident perhaps 
unprecedented these four years. Christina looked through my 
preface to Gabriel's Collected Works, and told me that she 
considers I have given an accurate and telling sketch of his 
character &c. 

1887. January 17. Called on Christina, who wrote me a few days 
ago to the effect that she is about to re-make her will, and 
means me to be sole legatee, subject to some temporary con- 
ditions. She explained to me what these conditions would be 
— not onerous. I can see that she regards her tenure of life as 
very fragile : she even speaks of our aged and infirm aunts 
being probably her survivors. What the precise illness is I 
don't gather : it is connected with the heart (as of old), but 
does not at present involve those suffocating-fits which used to 
be so alarming. She has seen Jenner several times of late : 
were she unable to call on him, his attendance upon her would 
cease, and she would consult either Gill or Stewart. Of course 
it may well be that she yet takes a decided turn for the better. 
The prospect of death is not, I think, in the least alarming to 
her — on the contrary, consolatory. 

„ April 2. I saw Christina who, since returning from Torquay, 
seems to have remained nearly stationary in point of health — 
perhaps a trifle less well. She says that her income this year has 
amounted to about ^300 — more than she had reckoned upon. 

„ April 24. Olive has now finished turning into blank verse her 
little drama of Theseus: Christina coached her up somewhat 



APPENDIX— WILLIAM ROSSETTI 215 

while at Brighton last autumn, and I have set some lines right, 
but only to a moderate extent. 

1887. July 3. I called in the evening to inquire after my Aunt 
Charlotte, and I saw her for a minute or two. She seems to 
have again taken a turn for the worse, and, to judge by appear- 
ances, might be accounted very near her end : however, the 
reserve of vitality and strength has evidently been very great, 
and possibly it so continues. Christina tells me Charlotte has 
left to her an amount of money about double what she has left 
to Eliza. This, however, is on the understanding that Chris- 
tina will continue keeping up certain benefactions &c. which 
Charlotte had at heart, especially to the Polidori family in 
Florence : insomuch that Christina regards about half of the 
money left to her as being practically trust-money, and to be 
still applied as such (more or less) even after Christina's own 
decease. I recommended her to carry out (of course) with 
strict faithfulness whatever is really incumbent upon her in this 
regard ; but not to indulge in mere fancies and wire-drawings, 
such as mere voluntary largesses to the Polidoris, or continuance 
of this full allowance (some ^£40 p.a.) after the widow (Amalia) 
of Filippo Polidori shall have ceased to live. In especial, I 
dissuaded her from trenching on the capital sum — a course 
which she seemed inclined to adopt without much reluctance 
should it serve some ostensible convenience. 

1890. January 8. My venerable Aunt Charlotte died this afternoon: 
she was 87 last May. For uniform placid sweetness of temper 
and manner, complaisance, and pleasing moderation of character 
and feeling, I certainly never knew her superior — indeed not 
her equal. Her abilities were of an ordinary stamp — no 
marked degree or tendency of faculty in any direction. The 
news of my aunt's death reached me from Christina. . . . 
The last day when I saw Charlotte may have been towards 
15 December. She then presented an appearance of more ill- 
health and depression than usual, and her memory was infirm 
and treacherous. For the most part, although almost wholly 
bed-ridden since about May 1887, she has looked surprisingly 
well — placid, and even cheerful in countenance (though I have 
constantly understood from Christina that Charlotte was very 
wishful for death), clear in complexion, and firm in flesh : one 
could hardly believe her arm and hand to be those of a more 
than octogenarian. I am executor along with Eliza : of course 
I shall have practically to act alone. 
„ January 16. This afternoon I handed over the will to the 



2i6 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

solicitor who drew it up, Mr. Turner, in order that he may take 
the requisite steps. The main provisions of the will are these : 
House in Endsleigh Gardens to me ; personal effects and ;;^ioo 
to Eliza ; residue between Eliza, one third, and Christina, two- 
thirds. I have gathered in talk with Christina that the total 
value will probably exceed ;^5ooo. 
1892. May 26. A dreadful complication in Christina's condition of 
ill-health came to a crisis yesterday.^ With deep thankfulness 
I can say that as yet all seems to go on perfectly and even 
surprisingly well. The future cannot but remain overcast ; but 
(a proverb which has often yielded me some consolation my life 
through) " sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." Christina 
has borne herself like a heroine in this matter : I first knew of 
it from heron Friday last. I was in her house from i| p.m. on 
Wednesday to 9I a.m. on Thursday. Stewart, Lawson, Bailey. 
. . . Christina had had ever since 29 December some idea of 
what was in prospect for her. 

„ May 28. Saw Christina for some twenty minutes in the after- 
noon. She is placid and comparatively comfortable — free from 
any positive pain, allowing for a certain not quite easy sensation 
in the left shoulder. I also saw the surgeon, Lawson, for a few 
minutes : he says everything went as well as could be, and for 
the present all the prospects are satisfactory. 

„ June 12. Called on Christina, and for the first time found 
her seated in a chair. Sat talking with her more (I suppose) 
than 1 1 hour, partly on religious matters. Was sorry to learn 
that last night a touch of rather sharp pain woke her up. It 
passed off rapidly, and she does not know what it really in- 
dicated. To-day she mentioned it to Mr. Lawson, who seemed 
to pass it over as of no importance : this may perhaps be his 
last visit, but Christina is not sure as to this point. His fee is 
to be ;^52. loi-. (as settled by Stewart) — which seems very 
ample. Christina does not know with any accuracy when she 
can go off (as is proposed) to Brighton. I expect to accom- 
pany her. I had to write to-day to G. F. Watts, explaining 
that his offer to paint Christina's portrait, to be given to the 
nation among the others of his gift, cannot be further taken into 
account for the present : a disappointment to me, and no 
doubt, to some extent, to Christina herself. 

„ September 5. Called to see Christina — still on the sofa in the 
drawing-room. She feels better, and the doctor says she is 

^ The crisis (which I did not then choose to put into words) was the operation 
for cancer. 



APPENDIX— WILLIAM ROSSETTI 217 

better. Nevertheless, as the nurse-servant Harriett informed 
me on my going down-stairs, the doctor has left a special 
message for me, to the effect that the condition of Christina's 
heart is such as to give cause for grave apprehensions, and one 
ought to be prepared for whatever may happen. It is not for 
the present any recurrence of the other disease which caused so 
much anxiety in May. She was lately invited by the widow of 
Canon Burrows to write a prefatory or other memoir of him, 
but was reluctantly compelled to decline, owing to the state of 
her health. 

1892. September 9. Christina seems some trifle better to-day : she 
was to leave her bed in the evening for the sofa in the drawing- 
room. Dr. James, with whom Lucy conversed, says the 
disease is in the nature of angina pectoris, but not that form 
of the malady which entails acute pain. This is an illness 
which afflicted Christina at a very early age — say 19 to 23 : Dr. 
Crellin then cured it. At least he called it angina pectoris, 
although of late years I have been told now and again that that 
cannot well have been angina pectoris, as a cure could not well 
have been hoped for. 

1893. March 3. Called on Christina. It seems to be now only 
too certain that the illness from which she suffered in April 
and May last is recurring — though as yet no definite steps to 
cope with it have been taken or announced. There is not any 
severe pain, — so she says. The matter of the heart-disease is 
kept tolerably well in check for the present. A wretchedly 
painful affair this. 

,, June 26. Called on Christina, who looks rather well, and 
feels perhaps hardly worse than usual. She is executrix to my 
Aunt Eliza's will. My aunt left me a legacy of ^^650 and 
(after various charitable bequests, about ^1,500) the residue 
to Christina. Christina, as she told me when last I called 
previously, means as executrix to assign to me shares, nominally 
;^65o, in the West Middlesex Waterworks. Each ;^ioo share 
counts at present for ;^2 6o : so that this amounts in fact to a 
gift of ^^1,040 from Christina, besides the legacy of ;^65o. A 
very liberal sisterly act. 

)) July 3°- Christina suffers, but not acutely, from the illness 
which developed itself dangerously towards April 1892, and 
also from serious weakness of the heart. Her condition is 
certainly most precarious; yet she goes on from month to 
month without apparent complications of the graver kind, and 
her looks are mostly not amiss. She can get out of doors a 



2i8 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

very little — as for instance to sit awhile in the Square-enclosure. 
She can attend to her small household affairs, reading, medi- 
tating, letter-writing, &c. ; and on the whole manages to get 
through the day with placid contentment, or resignation, and 
not (I think) with any extreme tedium or lowness of spirits. 
As residual legatee of my Aunt Eliza she will have come in for 
some ;;^4,ioo, more or less. She has more than once told me 
that she regards her recent book. The Face of the Deep, as 
probably her final performance. 

1893. September 29. Drew cheque to pay Christina her share for the 
last quarter of money coming from Gabriel's books &c. This 
reduces my bank-balance below ;^76 — a lower ebb perhaps 
than it ever reached before. I had been expecting to have to 
sell-out a goodish sum from my little investments in order to 
meet the demands for Lucy's travelling abroad &c. : this how- 
ever is staved off for the present by a gift of ^100 made to 
Lucy the other day by Christina — who puts it on the ground 
that our mother had wished to leave a like sum to Lucy, 
but had not found it manageable. This of course is true, in 
its direct sense : not less true is it that Christina has acted from 
a spontaneous impulse of good-feeling, wishing to do what is a 
substantial accommodation to Lucy and me just now. 

1894. February 16. Called on Christina, who continues at a low 
average of health. I learn that, when she was paid, some 
months ago, the stipulated price of her book. The Face of the 
Deep, she voluntarily returned the money. She has since 
then ceased to be a subscriber to the Society for Promoting 
Christian Knowledge, on the ground (much talked of) of their 
having published a book countenancing Vivisection. 

„ July 24. Called on Christina, whose state is now one of 
considerable suffering, and I fear rapidly becoming critical. 
Stewart came while I was there, and I spoke to him. 

„ August 15. Went to see Christina. She is now in bed, and 
I greatly fear will not rise again. Spoke to Stewart, who gives 
a very gloomy and alarming account of her condition. I don't 
care to enter into the details. 

„ August 19. Went to see Christina. Her bed is now removed 
into the front drawing-room. She was not in pain to any 
serious extent, but drowsy — must have had a sleeping-draught. 
Religious bequests.^ 

1 By this curt phrase I meant that Christina had asked me, as her universal 
legatee, to provide for certain religious bequests which she had at heart. I 
assented, and have made some mention of tlie matter in my Reminiscences. 



APPENDIX— WILLIAM ROSSETTI 219 

1894. August 23. I called on Christina. Very low, but compara- 
tively free from pain. Religious bequests noted, ;^2,ooo. 
Again spoke to Stewart. He dwelt to-day chiefly on functional 
irregularity (not organic disease) of the heart, and hysteria — to 
which he has more than once told me that Christina is extremely 
subject, though I can't say that I should have discerned it for 
myself. 

„ September 3. Saw Christina. Gradual, though not very 
marked, worsening. A little earnest talk on matters of religion. 

„ September 6. Went to see Christina. She was very low and 
exhausted, so that I had to cut my visit short. I am afraid 
to-day that she looks distinctly worse in the face than I had as 
yet seen her. " I should like to see you there." ^ 

„ September 8. Saw Christina. She was very considerably 
better — /. e. less prostrated by weakness &c. — than when I was 
with her on Thursday ; but of course there is not any real 
change of condition for the better. Form of religious bequests 
fully approved. 

„ September 15. Saw Christina, and read the terms of my will 
to her. I regret to say that her pain continues on the increase, 
though she perseveres, as always, in making the lightest she can 
of it. Stewart, whom I met there, thinks the disease is now 
tending towards a lingering form. 

„ September 18. Saw Christina. Much as usual, but I think a 
little weaker now in voice and aspect. Stewart said to me, 
however (and so far I quite agree with him), " Her face is 
certainly not that of a dying person." 

„ September 30. Saw Christina. Suffering and weak, but 
perfectly conversible. She never utters a syllable of complaint, 
nor even, unless questioned, of information as to her troubles. 
A good deal of coughing of late. 

„ Octobers- Saw Christina. Very weak, with hysterical touches 
at moments. She is always, however, fully capable of a 
sustained talk, and to-day (with a view to the book of Gabriel's 
Family-Letters) she went over with me a list of old acquaint- 
ances of our childhood, rectifying, and reminding me of several 
particulars. 

„ October 6. Saw Christina. She confesses now, but only if 
she is asked about it, to pain that must be called severe, 
especially in the left shoulder. She was in a bad way as I 
entered the house, but had revived before I saw her, and talked 
as usual. Stewart, who is going abroad for some months, 
^ This phrase was used by Christina in speaking to me of heaven. 



220 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

informed her to-day to this effect, and that Dr. Abbot Anderson 
will represent him. She took the announcement placidly, though 1 1 
no doubt it must be unwelcome to her. 
1894. October 9. Saw Christina, who is surprisingly cheerful, con- 
sidering. She recited to me her old verses (say 1842) about a 
Chinaman's pigtail ; also a stanza, which I hardly seem to have 
heard before (date towards 1855) about Charon &c. 

„ October 22. Saw Christina. Her memory for old matters is 
singularly prompt and clear. 

,, October 25. Saw Christina. " Thrice the tabby cat hath 
mewed " ^ &c. Mrs. Tooley's article on Christina in The Young 
Woman has now come out. Ridiculous blunder of printing as 
a portrait of Christina the portrait by Gabriel of Lucy. Must 
write to the editor on this and another point. 

,, November 3. Saw Christina. More low and exhausted, and 
less capable of sustained attention, than perhaps I had yet seen 
her. I am afraid (if that is the right word in such a case) the 
end is near. She says she is not in serious pain. 

,, November 15. Saw Christina. Her condition of weakness 
and prostration is so extreme, and her voice so near to extinction, 
that I hardly understand how it could be possible for her to live 
more than a day or two ; she is not now in pain of a marked 
kind. Her last words to-day were " Good-bye, dear William." 

,, November 17, Went to see Christina. A regular nurse now 
in the house. 

,, November 23. Christina was sleeping when I arrived. After 
some while the nurse roused her to take some Brand's essence, 
and she and I spoke together. Her mind wanders a little 
now, but seems quite placid. No other marked change. 

,, December 2. Christina this afternoon was a little drowsy. 
Said a few things in a very natural voice, better than often has 
been the case these three weeks or so. Lord of the Isles P- 

„ December 6. Christina very quiet and composed to-day, talk- 
ing with presence of mind in a deliberate though very weak 
voice. She got me to look into the contents of her deed-box 
(will, spoons, &c.) and also gave me information as to \\\q pro- 
venance of the principal articles of furniture in her (front-drawing) 
room. . . . She has some fancy about animals, " like pussy-cats," 
on a piece of black satin, " looking about for sleep " : but I 

^ In my Reminisce7tces I mentioned this trifling instance of a certain degree of 
liveliness and whim preserved by Christina up to almost the last. 

^ This means that Christina spoke about Walter Scott's poem, The Lord of the 
Isles. I don't rightly remember what she said ; but it was something of a quite 
apposite, or even critical, kind. 



APPENDIX— WILLIAM ROSSETTI 221 

think she understands that this is a mere fancy of an exhausted 
brain and frame. 

. December 7. To-day again Christina was very placid, and 
capable of attending to whatever was said. It is remarkable 
how much her articulation has improved beyond what it was 
some fortnight or so ago. 

December 17. Christina was not so bad to-day. After I had 
been standing a minute by her bedside she opened her eyes and 
addressed me in an affectionate and natural tone, and she was 
able to follow my reading of two longish letters. I fear her 
mind is always now possessed by gloomy ideas as to the world 
of spirits, but she has not for some weeks past said to me any- 
thing bearing in this direction. She has again taken some 
liquid nourishment. 

December 25. Christina awake : taciturn, but not wholly 
silent. As usual now, she seems gloomy and distressed, but I 
find it difficult now to apprehend the precise cause. Religious 
ideas seem to me predominant herein. 

December 27. Christina seemed to-day a little more self- 
possessed than yesterday. She did not speak. I come to the 
conclusion that she is constantly engaged in mental prayer, and, 
though not unconscious of what is going on around her, will 
not take any express notice of it. 

December 29. My noble, admirable Christina passed away 
about 7.20 a.m. on Saturday (29). Far better so than that she 
should continue any longer in suffering of mind or of body. I 
left her on Friday about 2.45, kissing her forehead for the last 
time during her life. She did not seem to see me at all that 
day. The nurse, Harriett Read, sat holding Christina's right 
hand. Christina's eyes were mostly closed, but opened — half- 
opened — every few seconds, and turned on the nurse — I thought 
with a perceptibly affectionate look. She was still very possibly 
in mental prayer. That Friday morning towards 5 she " turned 
quite blue," as the nurse says, and the last stage of her painful 
passage began. Her ordinary colour however returned, and, 
when I saw her, there was, in this respect, nothing to be noticed 
different from the last few days. This morning Christina was, 
according to the nurse, evidently praying up to five minutes of 
the end. She gave one sigh, and so, in perfect peace at last, 
left us for ever. I went round with Olive before 11 a.m., and 
saw her face — peaceful, colour much sunken but aspect not dis- 
tressing. I had to attend to sorrowful duties. Called in the 
evening on Dr. Abbot Anderson for the death-certificate. He 



222 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

had already posted it to Torrington Square. He considers that 
Christina was subject to some fanciful and varying impressions 
for the last 3 or 4 weeks ; and this I know to be in some respects 
true. 

1894. December 30. I went round to Torrington Square with my 
three younger children, who wished to take the last look at 
Christina. We found the coffin closed, which pained us, but I 
approve of its having been done. The coffin, marked with a; 
cross, is an exact duplicate of that which was ordered for my 
mother, and which must have had Christina's definite approval. 
The medical certificate gives as causes of death — primary, 
scirrhus — secondary, cardiac failure. 

1895, January 2. The funeral — performed with dignity, grace, and 
in a way quite consonant to my feelings. A considerable 
attendance of (uninvited) persons in church, and a certain 
number at the grave. Snow fell in the night of 1-2, but the 
day was still, fine and sunny, and not particularly cold. The 
only persons who accompanied us five in mourning-carriages 
were the clergyman (Nash), Watts, Miss Lisa Wilson, and the 
two servants from Torrington Square. Two hymns by Christina 
sung in church. Watts got from Athenceiwi office the proof of 
his article on Christina, and brought it round to me. A very 
satisfactory article. He spent the evening with us. 



2. Extracts from a Diary kept by Christina Rosseiti Oft behalf of her 
Mother^ 188 1-6. 

1 88 1. April 7. Gabriel read us his magnificent ballad. The Kifig's 
Tragedy, founded on the history of James I of Scotland. Heard 
of the death of Mary CoUinson, within three months after the 
death of her brother James. 

„ November 26. Christina went to early dinner at the Scotts', 
where she met Mr. Henry Linton. Coming back she called 
on Gabriel, whom she found glad to see her, but weak and 
much depressed. A nurse had arrived the same morning to 
attend to him under Mr. Marshall, and to check, if possible, 
the excessive use of chloral &c. Mr. Watts and Mr. Caine 
were in the studio. 

„ December 14. We went to see poor dear Gabriel, whom we 
found laid up since Sunday with loss of power on the left side 




The House in which Christina Rossetti died. 

30 Torrington Square. 

Photograph taken in 1908. 



[To/ace p. 222. 



APPENDIX— FRANCES ROSSETTI 223 

— Mr. Marshall (thank God !) says not paralysis. On Sunday 
friends came unexpectedly to see him, and so filled up the 
chairs about the fire that he was restricted to the sofa ; where 
he became so cramped and presumably so chilled as to become 
numbed on the left side, his hand losing power, and his foot 
so that he could not stand. Mrs. Abrey (nurse) with Dr. 
Westland Marston and Mr. Caine carried him up to bed, 
where he remains. Mr. Marshall was sent for, and saw him 
the same day. We to-day found him free perhaps from pain, 
but depressed to a pitiable degree. William knew of this terrible 
attack, but was charged by Gabriel not to tell me, so we arrived 
without knowing what had happened. 

1 88 1. December 15. Christina went to see Gabriel, and found him 
much the same. She saw also Mr. Watts, and understood from 
him that in the course of the afternoon Mr. Marshall was 
expected to bring with him a young medical man who would 
remain in the house, and watch the effect of morphia which 
Gabriel was to try by Mr. Marshall's orders instead of chloral. 

,, December 18. To church with Christina. She in afternoon 
went to see Gabriel, and found him certainly not worse. The 
morphia is injected by puncturing the hand. The medical man 
in charge of the treatment is a Mr. Maudsley, aged 24, a pupil 
of Mr. Marshall's. Eight hours' sleep was induced by the first 
injection (or perhaps the second), but this may have been too 
strong a dose to repeat. Last night was restless. Mr. Caine 
talked kindly and feelingly to Christina. Mr. Leyland was paying 
Gabriel a visit. 

1882. January 20. Gabriel came, looking better and talking with 
more animation ; he mentioned having finished a little picture. 

„ February i. Mr. Cayley called. Gabriel came and invited 
me and Christina to accompany him down next Saturday to 
Birchington, where Mr. John Seddon is lending him a large 
and commodious "bungalow." 

,, March 2. Lucy came with Olivia and Arthur. I and Chris- 
tina went to West-Cliff Bungalow, Birchington-on-sea (a large 
one-storeyed commodious residence lent by Mr. John Seddon), 
to visit Gabriel ; who is staying there with his trained nurse, 
Mrs. Abrey, and Mr. Hall Caine and his sister Lily (13 years 
old), endeavouring to regain health and strength, and in par- 
ticular to regain the use of his left hand. But I was grieved 
indeed to find him much wasted away, suffering and in a 
measure depressed, though making us most welcome, and 
chatty enough on general subjects. 



224 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

1882. April 6. Christina went at 10.30 to morning service and Holy 
Communion. Gabriel so drowsy and sinking that William and 
Mr. Watts were telegraphed to. I sat up till about midnight, 
when Christina took my place till 6 in the morning. 

„ April 7. The drowsiness continues. William in great grief 
and Mr. Watts arrived. Mr, Leyland called, affectionately con- 
cerned at the unforeseen alarm. In consequence of Gabriel's 
having one night expressed to Mrs. Abrey some inclination to 
see Mr. Alcock, the rector, having been informed of this, called 
late in the evening and prayed with him; I and Mr. Watts 
uniting. 

„ April 8. Kind Mr. Martin had an awning put up to keep the 
sick-room cool. Mr. Shields hurried down, but could not see 
Gabriel at once ; and slept here. After unavoidable delays 
Mr. Marshall arrived, met Dr. Harris in consultation ; declared 
all the present urgent symptoms to point to uraemia (blood- 
poison produced by an escape of urea), and took instant vigor- 
ous measures to expel if possible the poison from the system. 
To produce perspiration, Gabriel was wrapped in a hot sheet 
and made very hot in bed, besides medicine being adminis- 
tered. The blessed result ensued of his regaining a more natural 
appearance, and rallying to a less inert general condition. 
Food, heat, and medicine (though no solid food), were kept up 
through the night, the greater part of which Christina passed 
keeping nurse company at the bedside. Mr. Marshall missed 
his up-train, and so remained on the spot for the night. Mr. 
Leyland again visited Gabriel, and Mr. Martin called. 

„ April 9. Easter Day. Mr. Marshall left soon after 9 o'clock, 
leaving word for me (I was not yet up) that Gabriel "continued 
to hold his own." He also says that as soon as manageable 
Gabriel ought to quit Birchington as being too cold for him, 
and had best simply return to Chelsea. I gather that the ill- 
ness is very serious, but not hopeless. Christina missed church 
after sitting up till towards 7 in the morning. (Forgotten from 
yesterday. Mr. Alcock called, and read and (we think) prayed 
alone with Gabriel, exhorting him to simple trust in God and 
our Saviour.) Mr. Leyland came. Mr. Alcock paid Gabriel a 
short bedside visit. — \Later on] We had arranged to sit up, I 
till 10, William till 2, Christina last; when suddenly, just after 
nurse and Mr. Watts together had put a poultice on Gabriel's 
back (Mr. Watts had but just left the room, nurse was attend- 
ing to the fire, I was by the bed rubbing Gabriel's back), 
Gabriel, who was sitting, fell back, threw his arms out, screamed 



APPENDIX— FRANCES ROSSETTI 225 

out loud two or three times close together, and then lay 
breathing but insensible. Nurse raised the alarm, Mr. Watts 
hurried back, and one on each side they held Gabriel down, 
but there was not the slightest struggle or return of conscious- 
ness. All assembled round the bed. Mr. Shields flew for Dr. 
Harris, and in the shortest time returned with him. Gabriel 
still breathed, but that was all ; Dr. Harris once or twice said 
he still lived — then said he was dead. This took place shortly 
after 9 o'clock p.m. Gabriel had scarcely breathed his last 
when Lucy, having travelled all day from Manchester, arrived. 
The instant cause of death assigned by Dr. Harris was that the 
ursemic poison touched the brain, and he afterwards assured us 
that there was no pain. 
1S82. April 10. Easter Mofiday, Christina went to early Holy 
Communion. A telegram sent by William brought from London 
a man from Brucciani's to take a cast of Gabriel's face and 
hand. He looked quite peaceful, with a tendency towards a 
smile. Mr. Shields made a drawing of him. Mr. Leyland came, 
and Dr. Harris. Mr. Alcock came showing sympathy with 
us : he accompanied Christina to look at dear Gabriel (whose im- 
mediate death he had not anticipated), appeared moved, and, 
kneeling down, prayed aloud with Mr. Shields and Christina. 
Afterwards Lucy went with her and William to the Rectory, 
where Mrs. Alcock was introduced to them, and expressed 
concern and good-will. This call at the Rectory was for the 
purpose of meeting Mr. Alcock, who accompanied the three to 
the churchyard, where a spot was chosen for the dear grave ; 
one or two alternative spots being fixed upon in case the first 
(on sounding) should prove to be pre-occupied. Mr. Martin 
with his usual kindness undertakes to make arrangements for 
the funeral. Mr. Shields tells us that for years past he had 
prayed for Gabriel, and on anxious inquiry he was relieved to 
learn from us that he had been visited by a clergyman. 

„ April 12. Mr. Shields left us. William and Lucy returned,^ 
and later in the day Mr. Sharp arrived, bent on having a last 
look. 

„ April 13. Mr. Caine went to London. Mr. Alcock called 
to fix the exact hour for the funeral. Charlotte arrived from 
Muntham, having spent one night in London. Mr. Watts 
came back. The coffin was closed in the evening. 

„ April 14. Mr. Alcock performed the funeral simply and 

1 Having been present at the moment of Gabriel's death, I had, with my wife, 
gone up to London soon afterwards to attend to some necessary details. 

15 



226 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 



1 



solemnly. Besides myself, Christina, William, Lucy, and 
Charlotte, there were present Messrs. Graham, Leyland, Watts, 
Caine, Hueffer, John Seddon, Stephens, Boyce, Aldam Heaton, 
Martin, Sharp, Philip Marston, Shields, and Dr. Harris. 
Herbert Gilchrist and two others attended uninvited, but were 
not of our party. Mr. Martin having undertaken much of our 
trouble, all went well as to carriages (five were provided) and 
refreshments. Mr. Shields and Mr. Watts remained for the 
night, and of course Mr. Caine. In the evening Charlotte, 
William, Lucy, Christina, and INIr. Shields, returned to the 
churchyard to place on the grave (already closed and peaceful 
under a turfed mound) a most beautiful wreath of flowers which 
we believe was the one sent by Lady ISIount-Temple and brought 
by Mr. Graham. A number of floral decorations were con- 
tributed by different friends. Philip Marston presented a 
wreath of bay, the Leylands wreaths and a lovely white cross, 
Mr. Sharp a cross of primroses. I placed in the grave a bunch 
of simple flowers among which were wood-spurge (or certainly 
one of the spurges) and forget-me-nots ; Christina had gathered 
these in the grounds and conservatory. 
1882. April 15. Mr. Alcock called and said good-bye, inviting me 
to take a bed at his house if I liked occasionally to visit 
Birchington. I returned with Charlotte and Christina to 
Torrington Square; William, Mr. Watts, and Mr. Caine> 
accompanying us to the station. 

„ April 18. Christina called in Cheyne Walk (92) to ask after 

Mr. Scott, who was gone to South Kensington and much better 

of his injured leg ; and she saw Mrs. Scott and Miss Boyd. 

Mrs. Stephens brought me a beautiful wreath of white flowers, 

'^ and Mr. Cayley called. 

„ May 26. I went with Charlotte, Eliza, and Christina, to 
dear Gabriel's house. William met us there, and we selected 
(I and Christina) each a drawing as a remembrance ; and all 
four of us chose an odd volu-me (at William's suggestion) from 
a number of imperfect books set aside as nearly valueless. The 
house looked desolate indeed, bereft of the dear pervading 
presence. Mr. Dunn showed us two water-colour drawings he 
has begun of the drawing-room and dining-room furnished in 
the old familiar manner, and he proposes to represent in the 
same way the studio and Gabriel's own bedroom ; ^ pretty and 

^ The water-colour of the studio was made. So far as I know, the bedroom 
was not now portrayed ; but I possess a water-colour of it made by Mr. Dunn at 
some preceding date. 



APPENDIX— FRANCES ROSSETTI 227 

highly interesting Httle pictures these promise to be. Mr. Cainc, 
coming in before we left, greeted us very cordially. 
1SS2. June 29. William called on his way to Chelsea, whither we 
followed him in the course of the afternoon ; staying some time 
in the saddened house, and seeing a number of the familiar old 
objects all about the rooms ready for the sale next week. Poor 
William was suffering much from gout. We saw Mr. Dunn for 
a moment, Mr. Watts, and Mr. Caine, who fetched a cab for 
us. 

,, July 8. William paid a long morning visit. The three days' 
sale, with the addition of some private sales, has produced (he 
estimates) about ^3,000, a result far beyond anticipation. The 
one grievous mishap of the sale was the disappearance, how we 
know not, of the choice copy of Petrarca, given by my father 
to me, by me long afterwards as a keepsake to Gabriel, and 
containing the autograph of John Philip Kemble, by whom it 
was originally given to my father. 

,, July 26. Mr. Sharp called, and I lent him my Main's 
Sonnet-book containing Gabriel's beautiful Indian-ink drawing 
and autograph sonnet, given me by him the day I was eighty. 
I am allowing both design and words to be engraved in 
facsimile for Mr. Sharp's forthcoming memoir of Gabriel. 

,, September 21. Christina dined with William and Lucy, 
meeting there Mr. and Mrs. Shields, Mr. Cayley, and Mr. 
Dunn. 

„ September 23. Charlotte returned to Muntham. Began 
with Christina reading through dear Gabriel's letters to me, in 
preparation for William's and Mr. Watts's joint volume. Mr. 
Cayley called with his sister Henrietta. 

„ November 6. We concluded reading Gabriel's letters for 
William's book : Mr. Cayley called, and stayed to whist and 
tea. 

„ December 2. Christina went to consult Sir William Jenner, 
who again spoke with great interest of Gabriel ; remarking on 
the narrow line which divides genius from mental affection, 
observing how it preys on its possessor, and evidently of 
opinion that, with his nerves and his gifts, it is no marvel that 
we have lost him. 

„ December 19. Mr. Tebbs paid us a long sympathetic visit, 
selecting works by Gabriel and portraits of him for exhibition at 
Burlington Fine Arts Club. 

„ December 30. I went with Charlotte, Eliza, and Christina, to 
the Royal Academy, Burlington House, to see a roomful of 



223 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

dear Gabriel's drawings and paintings, — strikingly beautiful. 
This was the private view. 
1883. January 24. Olive and Arthur brought a note from Lucy 
saying that dear little Michael was dying. Christina went round 
between 10 and 1 1, found all in grief, and sat with poor William 
and Lucy till the baby died just before i o'clock. He was 
suffering from pressure on the brain, which mercifully (we are 
told) was unaccompanied by consciousness, although his eyes 
continued open. Mr. Gill, who attended him assiduously, 
brought a Dr. Roberts to see him in consultation last Thursday, 
and yesterday William called in Sir William Jenner. Christina 
returned to Endsleigh Gardens in the afternoon, carrying a 
heath in bloom to place in the room. 

,, February 12. Christina called on Lucy, whom she found at 
home with all her children. Lucy brought in her beautiful 
drawing of Michael lying dead, to show Christina — at sight of 
which little Mary became quite excited, scuttling along towards 
the portrait. It seemed to attract her like a magnet, affectionately 
and pleasurably. Holding her mother's hand, she walked some 
distance round the room, accompanying the portrait held high 
in Lucy's other hand. Then, seated opposite it, she made kisses 
towards it ; once broke into a laugh and uttered inarticulate 
baby-chatter, pointing and stretching out her little hand in her 
vain endeavour to touch the drawing. 

„ March 9. William, Lucy, and Mr. George Hake, came to 
" substantial tea " with us, and we passed a very agreeable 
evening; in the course of which Mr. Burcham looked in by 
chance, in London for a short visit (from Norwich) especially 
to see Gabriel's pictures now exhibiting. He brought me a 
small quantity of exceptionally fragrant pot-pourri, made by 
John ^ for a Norwich lady whose maiden name I could not 
learn, but who — either herself or her daughter — became a Mrs. 
Asker (?). This highly-valued gift I returned by presenting 
him with the " Home Library " (American) edition of dear 
Gabriel's collected poems. 

„ April 7. To buy flowers (a cross of white everlastings and 
several small bunches, including forget-me-nots) for dear 
Gabriel's grave, where Mr. Caine has promised to place them 
next Monday, the anniversary of his death. Eliza accompanied 
us. We left the flowers with Mr. Caine in Clement's Inn, and 

^ /. c. Dr. John Polidori, Byron's travelling physician in 1816, Mrs. Rossetti's 
brother— deceased in 1821. 



APPENDIX— FRANCES ROSSETTI 229 

exchanged cordial words with him and with Mr. Watts, who 
happened to be there. 
1883. May 12. To-day the drawings &c. left by Gabriel (on this 
his birthday) were sold by auction in Christie's Rooms. About 
;^3,ooo is realized for ourselves, as reported at the moment 
by William. 

„ May 14. To church, and then to William's, where we saw 
himself and Helen, and for a moment Lucy. The sum realized 
last Saturday (not ;^3,ooo but nearer ^2,800), by sale of 
Gabriel's works, will probably, after all incidental expenses have 
been paid, rather more than suffice to clear off the remaining 
liabilities. 

„ June 7. William came and read us a letter from Dr. Steele, 
containing particulars of Teodorico's seizure. He was minister- 
ing (at Florence) to a Protestant congregation, discoursing on 
Revelation v., when his voice failed. He sat down — for a 
moment his state was not perceived — then Isabella rushed 
forward : but he, motioning her aside, called out to his flock, 
"Addio, addio, addio," — and, becoming insensible, died the 
same day. The funeral was to take place last Friday (5th). 

„ July 12. I went with Christina to Church Hill, Birchington. 
Mrs. John Seddon left some roses for us, gathered (I believe) 
from under one of Gabriel's windows in the Bungalow. 

„ July 13. I stayed at home to rest. Christina placed roses on 
Gabriel's grave, on which a white cross and a few withered 
flowers were already lying. 

„ August 4. We walked and sat out. Mr. Shields called, and 
went with Christina to look at the church-window I wish him 
to fill for me. He proposes a Publican for one light, and a 
St. Mary Magdalene after Gabriel's own design (adapted by 
himself for the purpose), for the other.^ They took a walk 
together along the Canterbury Road. 

„ September 6. I returned to Torrington Square with Charlotte 
and Christina. Before we left Birchington, Christina and I 
paid our last visit to dear Gabriel's grave, and placed flowers 
upon it. 

„ November 17. Mr. Burcham called, introducing to us his 
friend Mr. Kitton.2 

„ December 5. To litany with Christina. Charles Bagot Cayley 

died in the night.^ 

^ Neither of these proposals took effect. 

^ The late Mr. F. G. Kitton, one of the leading authorities regarding Dickens. 
^ This entry as to Cayley (who died in the night from 5 to 6 December) was 
evidently added after the entry for 7 December had been made. 



230 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

1883. December 7. While Christina was at the litany, Profr. and 
Mrs. Cayley called to tell her the dreadful news that their 
brother Charles had been found dead in his bed the morning 
(Thursday) before. Coming in, Christina saw them ; then went 
and saw her dear friend lying just as found in the attitude of 
sleep ; his hand, that is, raised to his face. He is thought to 
have died quite painlessly, the heart stopping. Miss Cayley 
(Sophie) was there, and asked Christina (offering her a bed) if 
she would attend the funeral at Hastings, where he will be near 
his mother. Christina bought a beautiful wreath at Covent 
Garden, and herself laid it on the sheet where other flowers 
were already lying. 

„ December II. We walked as far as Russell Square. Christina 
went to Covent Garden, and bought a cross for herself and 
white flowers for me to send to Mr. Cayley's funeral at Hastings 
to-morrow. 

,, December 12. To the litany. William came. Charles Bagot 
Cayley was buried to-day at Hastings near his mother. Lucy 
called with Helen. 

,, December 13. Profr. Cayley brought Christina his brother's 
desk. 

1884. January i. Christina went a business-round for me, ending 
in Mr. Shields's studio, where she saw a fine cartoon for the 
second light of my memorial-window : our Lord leading the 
blind man by the hand before healing him. 

,, January 15. Christina went to Hastings to visit Mr. Cayley's 
grave, returning in the afternoon. 

,, February 29. To the litany. Mrs. Abrey called, and amongst 
other interesting matter assured us that, when poor Gabriel left 
Chelsea for Birchington, no one, so far as she knows, certainly 
not herself, foresaw that he would not return. 

„ March 22. I and Christina went to Mr. Shields's studio to 
see his design for the second light of my Birchington window : 
our Lord leading by the hand the blind man of Bethsaida ; 
very fine, and, when placed opposite Gabriel's .S/. Mary 
Magdalene^ promising a beautiful result. He showed us other 
fine things, and we saw Mrs. Shields. 

„ May 2. Mr. Alcock came up from Birchington to talk about 
my memorial-window. He considers the St. Mary Magdakfie 
(Gabriel's) light unsuited to the position of the particular 
window. So Christina went round with him to Mr. Shields's 
studio; and, after thought and discussion, that kind friend 
promises to try to produce a " light " from Gabriel's Passover 



^ 



APPENDIX— FRANCES ROSSETTI 231 

in the Holy Family, of which a photograph should be submitted 
to Mr. Alcock for approval before the work proceeds further. 
The Blind Man of Bethsaida light is accepted, but must wait 
till the second has got forward. 

\. June 6. The photograph of Gabriel's Passover in the Holy 
Family arrived from Oxford, and Christina went with it to Mr. 
Shields, who finds he will be able to make his second light 
from it. So now we send it to Mr. Alcock, before carrying the 
work any further. 

August 26. William came to see me before I and Christina 
started for Birchington, which I reached tired. 

August 30. We revisited the grave, and I ordered a low 
wooden coping to be placed round it. Mr. Bristow (carpenter, 
joiner, undertaker, clerk, sexton) is to do this for me. He is 
quite impressed by the number of visitors to Gabriel's grave, 
and mentioned one lady in particular who fainted in her distress. 

September i. William in London sent us down to read the 
following letter from his little Helen at Heme Bay ; believed to 
be her own composition, dictated to Lucy : — 



4 TELFORD TERRACE. 

Thursday. 

My dear Papa, I am better. I have been in great pain, 
and am only allowed to eat soft things. I am not allowed 
to go out or get into draughts, but the kitten is very kind and 
seems to like me, and I don't know what I should do without 
her. I wish you were here to take me out on the beach. 
Poor Mamma has a pain in her leg, but she is always kind 
to me — and Cook sat up all night helping me, and she must 
have been very tired. But I love you because you do not keep 
me indoors, but let me wet my feet and clothes in the water, 
so do come again for I am always dry now. 

Your loving child, 

Helen. 

September 9. We changed our lodgings to next door (Mr. 
Ashton, Chemist, 5 Station Road). We settled with Bristow 
the sexton that he should raise a low mound over dear Gabriel, 
and train ivy close over it. We visited the grave, on which 
Christina placed flowers, and walked to the nearest nursery- 
ground on the Margate Road. 



232 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI'S LETTERS 

1884. October 23. We sat out and walked by the Bungalow. The 
memorial-window, mine to Gabriel, came down from London, 
and the placing it in church was commenced. 

„ October 24. I went with Christina to look at the window, 
beautiful beyond my expectation. The bright clear morning 
showed it to great advantage. Mr. Alcock was there, and 
shook hands with us. After looking some time at the window, 
and remaining somewhat longer in church, we made a pleasant 
round walking home. 

„ October 28. I returned home from Birchington with Christina. 

„ November I. Christina went for me to Lodge Place, and paid 
Mr. Shields the second and final instalment for my Birchington 
window, including the rejected design of Sf. Mary Magdalene. 
I added ;^3o to what was owing, by which means Mr. Shields 
received a clear ;!^ioo for himself. 

1885. March 20. We attended the litany. A Mr. Sandeman 
brought us a book of illuminations illustrative of some of 
Gabriel's poems, and done by a Mrs. Traquair ; who, calling in 
the afternoon, fetched away her beautiful performance : they 
are acquaintances of the George Hakes. 

„ August 9. In the afternoon William brought round Mr. 
Brown to see what portraits of Gabriel I had, in preparation 
for his commencing his memorial bronze medallion (?) to form 
the chief feature of a fountain proposed to be erected near the 
old house in Cheyne Walk, Mr. John Seddon furnishing the 
architectural design. Dr. Littledale called. 

1886. February 25. I fell in my room (Christina at the other end 
of the room) and hurt my back. Mr. Stewart prescribed 
belladonna-poultice made with cotton-wool, and a soothing 
mixture. Considerable pain, but (thank God !) no bones broken. 
Of course I keep in bed, and as quiet as possible. 

„ April 7. Christina sat up with nurse, only lying down occasion- 
ally without undressing : William and Harriett up and down 
through the night. The night over, no rally : unconsciousness 
at last. Mr. Stewart came twice. Mr. Nash prayed by my bed- 
side, but I knew it not (?). Mr. Watts called much concerned. 
Charlotte is better. 



I, Christina G. Rossetti, happy and unhappy daughter of so 
dear a saint, write the last words. Not till nearly half-an-hour 
after noon on April 8 (Thursday) did my dearest mother cease 
from suffering, though for a considerable time it had (I am 



APPENDIX— CHRISTINA ROSSETTI 233 

assured) been unconscious suffering. William, Nurse Annie 
Jackson, Harriett, and I, watched by her on and off the last sad 
night. At the moment of death, William, Nurse, Mr. Stewart, 
and I, were present. Annie Jackson has been our true friend, 
helper, and comfort. Harriett and Alice ^ full of loving care for 
us. My beautiful mother looked beautiful after death, so con- 
tented as almost to have an expression of pleasure. I had her 
dressed in the " widow's cap " she has worn more than 30 
years. Mr. Nash sent to inquire. Miss Billing came in for a 
last look while Mamma lay insensible. Sarah Catchpole went 
to look at her as she lay dead. 

^ Servants. Sarah Catchpole (named directly afterwards) had also been a 
servant in the family. Miss Billing I do not remember — perhaps a neighbour. 



INDEX 



Abbot Anderson, Dr., 220, 221, 222 
Abrey, Mrs., 108, 109, ill, 112, 116, 

154, 168, 223, 224, 230 
Academy, The (review), 95, 98, 107, 
Agresti, Olivia, 28, 52, 58, 67, 74, 137, 

14s, 146, 147, 149, 156, 157, 163, 

180, 187, 188, 196, 203, 204, 221 
Agresti, Olivia, Le Jeune Bara, by, 

169, 170 
Agresti, Olivia, Theseus, by, 152, 170, 

214 
AikMs Year (maigazine), 20, 21 
Albany Street, 166, x, 206 
Albert (servant), 68 

,, Hall, London, 96 
Alcock, Rev. Mr., 114, 127, 141, 144, 

224, 225, 226, 230, 231, 232 
Aldrich, Hon. Charles, 200, 201 
Aldwick Lodge, Bognor, 52 
Alford, Dean, 29 
Alice (servant), 233 
All Saints Home, 155, 156 

,, Sisterhood, xi 

Allingham, William, 172 
Alma-Tadema, Sir Lawrence, 37 

,, Heads of Dr. and 

Mrs. Hueffer, by, 
37 
Amadeo, King, 174 
Angeli, Helen, 144, 145, 146, 189, 231 
Ansaldi, Dr., 202 
Arabian Nights, The, 57 
Arlington Street, 38, London, 18, 22, 

206 
Athenaum, The, x, 3, 43, 66, 70, 95, 

icxj, 107, 119, 122, 130, 133, 139, 

142, 143, 148, 150, 212, 213, 222 
Austin family, 48, 49 
Aylott and Jones, 16, 17 



B 

Barham, Rev. R. H., 5 

,, As I lay a-thinking, by, 5, 

6, 7. 9 
Bateman, E. L., 20 
Bath, Marchioness Dowager of, 17, 18, 

22 
Baynes, Rev. Mr., 29 
Bell, Mackenzie, viii 
,, Me7tioir of Christina Rossetti, 

by, 96 
Bennett, Rev. Mr., 22 
Benson, E. F., 170 

,, Dodo, by, 170 

Berwick Lodge, Clifton, 50 
Birchington Church, 128, 144 
Birchington-on-Sea, xii, 104, 108, 128, 

135, 169, 212, 223, 224, 229, 231 
Blind, Mathilde, 49, 50 
Bliss, Mr., 7, 10 
Bloomsbury Square, 12, London, 44, 

46, 51 
Boccaccio, 1S8 

,, Lectures on Dante, by, i83 

Bodichon, Mrs., 37 
Bonaparte, Prince L. L., loi 
Boyce, George P., 226 
Bray, Anna E., 91 
Brett, John, 54 
Brighton, 9, 12, 13, 15, 54, 156, 186, 

215, 216 
Bristow, Mr., 145, 146, 231 
Broadlands, Hants, 59, 67, 123 
Brown, Emma, 40, 69, 153, 208 
Brown, Ford Madox, 14, 35, 49» 63, 

68, 69, 70, 81, 83, 121, 128, 131, 

133. 151. 158, I9i> 192, 196-199. 

207, 232 
Brown, Ford Madox, Bust of D. G. 

Rossetti, by, 152, 153 



235 



236 



INDEX 



Brown, Ford Madox, Grave-cross for 

D. G.Rossetti, by, 145 
Brown, Oliver Madox, 32, 46, 47, 48 

,, The Black Swan, by, 41 

Browning, Mrs., 31, 212 

,, Portuguese Sonnets ^ by, 

97, 98 
Brownlow-Byron, Miss, 60 
Bull, Miss, 196 

Burcham, R. P., 206, 228, 229 
Burdett-Coutts, Baroness, 88 
Burlington Fine Arts Club, 227 
Burne-Jones, Margaret {see MacKail) 

„ Sir Edward, 86, 128, 136 

Burrows, Canon, 102, 217 



Caine, Hall, 80, 95, 98, 99, 100, 108, 
109, 112, 114, 127, 222, 223, 225- 
228 
Caine, Hall, Lecture on D. G. Rossetti, 

by, 80, 81 
Caine, Hall, Recollections of D. G. 

Rossetti, by, 122 
Caine, Lily, 108, 109, 223 
Casey, Madame, 151 
Catchpole, Sarah, 233 
Cayley, Charles B., xi, xii, 14, 29, 34, 
55, 56, 97, 122, 138, 139, 142, 212, 
213, 223, 226, 227, 229, 230 
Cayley, Charles B., Translation of 

Dante, by, 14, 15 
Cayley, Charles B., Translation of 

Homer, by, 63, 64, 124 
Cayley, Charles B., Translation of 

Petrarca, by, 76, 77 
Cayley, Henrietta, 27, 203 
,, Henry, 203 
,, Mary, 203 

Mrs., 56 
,, Professor, 142, 143, 230 
,, Sophie, 27, 203, 230 
Cerbara, 38 
Chaillu, P. J. du, 26 
Charlotte Street, 38, London, ix 

,, 50, London, x 

Chatham Place, 14, London, 134, 136 
Cheyne Walk, 16, London, 37, 118, 

152, 226, 227, 232 
Christ Church, Woburn Square, 213 



Ciocci, Signor, 15 

Clifton, 49 

Cole, Isabella, 143, 144, 145, 163, 229 

Collins, Wilkie, Ii8 

,, The Moonstone, hy, 118 

Collinson, Charles, 7, 9 

,, James, x, 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 13, 

222 
,, Portrait of Christina Ros- 

setti, by, 2, 3 
, , St. Elizabeth of Hungary, 

by, 12, 13, 14, 172 
,, Mary, 2-10, 222 

Mrs., 2, 3, 4 
,, Mrs. Charles, 2, 8, 10 

Cowper-Temple, Mrs. {see Mount- 
Temple) 
Craik, Mr., 119, 120 
Crayon, The (review), 26 
Crellin, Dr., 217 
Critic, The (review), 14, 16 
Cumberland, 99, icx) 



D 

Daily Chronicle, The, 74 
Dalziel, Messrs., 207, 208 
Dante, 38, 126, 135, 184 

,, Divina Com media, by, 38, 88, 
184 
Darblay, Madame, 57 

,, Diaries, &c. of, 57 

Davies, William, 194 

,, Meinoir of James Smetham, 

by, 194 
Deacon, Rev. Mr., 131, 143, 144 
Dickinson, Emily, 176 

,, Poems, by, 176 

Dilberoglue, Stauros, 37 
Dixon, Canon, 48 
,, Poems, by, 48 

„ Thomas, 86, 87 
Dodgson, Rev. C. L., 121 

, , The Nursery Alice, by, 1 76 

Duclaux, Madame, 130 

, , Efnily Bronte, by, 1 30, 1 3 1 

Dunn, H. TreiTry, 35, 59, 67, 68, 100 
, , Watercolours of Cheyne Walk, 

by, 226 



INDEX 



^37 



Eastbourne, 56, 57 

Edinburgh, 12, 15 

Eliot, George, 97, 109, no 

Eliza, Sister, 61, 62, 106 

Ellis, F. S., 129 

Eminent Women (series), 107, 126, 212 

Endsleigh Gardens, 5, London, xi, 211, 

216 
Euston Square {see Endsleigh Gardens) 



Florence, 67, 215, 229 
Ford, Onslow, 143, 144, 146 
Foster family, 9 
Fox, Dr. Wilson, 38, 208, 209 
Eraser, F. A., 207 
Frescobaldi, Dino, 30 

,, Sonnet by, 30 

Freshwater, 25 
Frome, x, 22, 206 



Galzini, A., 179 
Gamberale, Luigi, 75 

,, Translations from Dante 

and Christina Rossetti, 

by, 75, 94. 95 
Gardner, Mrs., 143 
Garnett, Mrs., 201 
Garrido, 76, 77 
Gemmer, Mrs., 109, no 
Genoa, 202 

Ger7n, The, x, 3, 4, 6, 7, n, 12, 15, 16 
Gilchrist, Herbert, 226 
GilfiUan, Rev. George, 17 
Gill, William, 76, 202, 22S 
Gladstone, W. E., 64, 175 
Gloucester, 18 
Goldsmith, Oliver, 210 

,, History of Greece, by, 210 

Graphic, The, 189 
Gray, Dr., 26, 27 
Greenwell, Dora, 48, 49, 51 

,, Mrs., 49 

Greenwood, Mr., 176 
Grey, Fanny, 18, 19 



Grindrod, Dr., n2 
Guardian, The, 15, 16, 104 
Guernsey, 126 
Gurney, Mrs. Russell, 123 

,, Daftte^s Pilgrimage, hy, 194 



H 

Hake, Dr., 32, 35, 36, 54, 176 
, , Her Winning Ways, by, 45, 46 

,, Madeline, by, 33 

,, Parables, by, 33 

,, George, 36, 41, 54, 88, 89, 100, 
228 
Hampstead, 207 
Harriett (servant), 161, 232, 233 
Harris, Dr., 108, 114-117, 126, 224, 

225, 226 
Harrison, Fanny, 24 
Mr., 24 

Mrs., 24, sr, 53 
Hastings, I, 21, 22,1.139, 213, 230 
Heaton, Ellen, 73, 74, 120 
Heimann, Dr., i, 2, 25 
,, Mrs., 10, 19 

Hensman, Miss, 176 

,, Dante Map, by, 176 

Heme Bay, 69 
Hervey, T. K., 3, 4 
Highgate, 26 

,, Cemetery, xii, 213 
Hinkson, Catherine, 148, 149 

,, Shafnrocks, by, 148 

Hood, Thomas, 36 

,, Love Lane, by, 36 

Horder, W. G., 95 

,, The Poefs Bible, edited by, 

95 
Housman, Laurence, 190 

,, Goblin Market, designs, 

by, 190 
Howell, C. A., loi 
Howitt, Mary, 20, 21 
Howitt-Watts, Anna Mary, 20, 21, 1 10, 

112 
Howitt-Watts, Anna Mary, The End of 

the Pilgrimage, by, 21 
Hueffer, Cathy, 37, 137, 153, 154, 197, 

202, 214 
Hueffer, Francis, 37, 154, 213, 214, 226 



238 



INDEX 



Hughes, Arthur, 34, 44, 207, 208 
,, Singsong, designs, by, 34, 35 

,, Speaking Likenesses, de- 

signs, by, 43, 47 
Hunt, W. Holman, 11, 56, 73, 93, 136 
,, Etching in The Germ, by, 11 



I 

Ingelow, Jean, 29 

Ingram, J. W., 52, 53, 107, 108, no, 

126, 212 
Isle of Wight, 8 
Italy, xi 

J 
Jackson, Annie, 153, 213, 233 

,, Rev, Mr., 27 
James, Dr., 217 
Jeaffreson, J. Cordy, 126 
Jenner, Sir William, 33, 34, 42, 48, 

165, 207, 209, 210, 214, 227, 228 
Jervis, Swynfen, 21, 22 

K 
Kelmscott Manorhouse, 32, 37, 39, 40, 

45. 50 
Kemble, John P., 175, 176, 227 
King family, 5, 6 
Kitton, F. G., 195, 229 
Knewstub, W. J., 158 
Knight, Joseph, 113 
Knole Park, 94, 96 



Lafifey, Madame, 163 
Lascaridi, Peter, 76 
Laurati, Pietro, 46 
Lawson, Mr., 189, 190, 216 
Layard, F. Somes, 195 

,, Tennyson and his Free- 

raphaelite Illustrators, by, 

195 
Leader, J. Temple, i, 2 
Leifchild family, 124 
,, Henry, 102 

,, Ariadne and Bacchus, by, 

102 
Leyland, F. R., 105, 114, 168,223-226 



Littledale, Rev. Dr., 44, 45, 232 
Locker, Frederick, 207 
Longleat, 17 

Longmans & Co., 140, 202 
Lyster, A. C, 5 

M 
MacClure, Edmund, 185, 190, 192, 193 
Mackail, Mrs., 86 
Mackay, Messrs.," 40 
Macmillan, Alexander, 28, 44, 83, 93, 

105 
Macmillan s Magazine, xi, 55 
Mademoiselle Mori (novel), 56 
Main, David, 84 

,, Treasury of English Sonnets, 

edited by, 84, 227 
Malvern, 112, 113, 115 
Manchester, 158 
Mansfield, 8 

Marchesani, Giuseppe, 135, 136 
Margate, 137 

Marlborough, Duke of, 174 
Marshall, John, 47, 48, 67, 68, 72, 113, 

115, 211, 222, 223 
Marston, Dr. J. Westland, 33, 223 

,, Philip B., 226 
Martin, Mr., 108, no, n2, 224, 225, 

226 
Martin, Rosamond, 203, 204 
Maudsley, Mr., 223 
Mayo, Conte Adelfo, 182 
Meynell, Mrs., 87 

,, Article on D. G. Rossetti, 

by, 87 
Micks, Sir Robert, 194 
Miller, Joaquin, 34, 207, 211 

,, Olive-leaves, hy, 211 

,, Songs of the Sierras, by, 34 

Mitchell, Mrs., 70, 222 
Moore, Canon, 187 

,, Dante and his Early Bio- 

graphers, by, 187 
Morris, Mrs., 47, 88 

,, Sir Lewis, 196 

,, Epic of Hades, by, 196 

„ William, 32, 45 
Mount-Temple, Lady, 61, n7, 122, 

174, 226 
Mount-Temple, Lord, 123 



INDEX 



239 



Munro, Alexander, 24 

Murray, C. Fairfax, 59, 81, 82, 91 

Musgrave, George, 200 

,, Translation of Dante, h'j, 

200 



N 

Napoleon III, 27 
Nash, Prebendary, 213, 222, 232 
National Portrait Gallery, 165, 178 
Nelaton, Dr., 51 
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 12 
Newman Street, London, 12 
Nicoll, Mr., 107, 108, no 
North, William, 7, 10, 18, 19, 20 



O 

Orchard, John, 4, 5, 9, 10 

,, Dialogue on Art, by, 4 

O'Shaughnessy, Mrs., 130, 131 
Oxford, 180 



Pall Mall Gazette, 30, 99 

Pallanza, 200 

Paris, xi, i 

Park Village East, 15, London, 10, 199 

Parodi, Signor, i, 2 

Patmore, Coventry, 15 

Paton, Sir J. Noel, 99 

Paul, C. Kegan, 190, 191, 200 

Pen, The (magazine), 87 

Percy, Bishop, 19 

, , 77^1? Hermit of Warkworth, by, 

19, 20 
Petrarca, 175 

,, Canzoniere oi, 175, 227 
Pietrocola, Achille, 144, 145 
Pietrocola-Rossetti, Teodorico, 78, 106, 

229 
Pietrocola-Rossetti, Teodorico, Sing- 
song, translated, by, 78 
Pistrucci, Filippo, 15, 16 

,, Heads of Christina Ros- 

setti, by, 145, 146 
,, Heads of Gabriele Ros- 

setti, by, 135, 137 
Pleasley Hill, Notts, 2, 4 



Poe, Edgar A., 7 

,, Arthur Gordon Pym, by, 7 
Polidori, Amalia, 215 

,, Charlotte, xii, 17, 92, 154, 
167, 170, 174,214,215,225, 
226, 232 
„ Eliza, xii, 36, 59, 165, 176, 
177, 178, 183, 195, 196, 
213-218 
,, Gaetano, x, 10, 184, 227 
,, John, 228 

Luigi, 179. 215 
,, Mrs., X, 22, 23, 206 
Polydore, Henrietta, 78 

,, Henrietta, junior, 28 
Henry F., 18 
Pooley Bridge, 19 
Potter family, 11, 12 
Prjeraphaelite Brotherhood, x 
Procter, Adelaide A., 212 



R 

Radcliffe, Mrs., 126, 129, 130 
Rassegna, La (magazine), 95 
Rawlinson, Wynifred, 184, 185 
Read, Harriett, 205, 217, 221 
Rintoul, Henrietta, 24, 25, no 
Rivington, Rev. Mr., 78 
Roberts, Morley, 182 

,, Songs of Energy, hy, i?>2 

„ Brothers, 96, 105, 161 
Robinson, Mary {see Duclaux). 
Rock, The (newspaper), 189 
Rossetti, Antonio, 144, 145 
Rossetti, Christina G. 
Works by — 

Annie, 13 

Annus Domini, 43, 44 

Ballad (A) of Boding, 97, 98 

Behold a Shaking, 97 

Behold I Stand, &c., 18, 20 

Bouts-Rimes Sonnets, 8 

Called to be Saints, 91, 120, 1:1 

Charon's Boat, 220 

Chinaman, The, 220 

Commonplace and other Stories, 

xi, 95 

Dante an English Classic, 124, 125 
Face (The) of the Deep, xi, 185, 
189, 192, 193, 218 



240 



INDEX 



Rossetti, Christina, G. 
Works by — contd. 
Fair World though Fallen, 18 
From House to Home, 29 
Goblin Market, xi, 26, 27, 28, 190 
Golden Glories, 84 
Grown and Flown, 31 
Iniquity (The) of the Fathers, &c., 

52, 53 
Later Life, 94 
Lowest Room, The, 55 
Maude, 16, 17 

Mirrors of Life and Death, 66 
Monna Innominata, 94, 97> 98 
My Mouse, 65 
My Secret, 55 
No Thankyou, John, 54, 55 
October Garden, An, 70 
Pageant, A, xii, 91, 92, 94-98, 

105, 204 
Passing Away, 78, 133, 134 
Poetical Works, ix 
Prince's Progress, The, xi 
Queen (The) of Hearts, 55 
Ruined Cross, The, 21, 22 
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, 13 
Seek and Find, 79, 80, 81, 83, 212 
Singsong, xi, 34, 52, 56, 74, 77, 

81, 94, 166, 167, 208, 209 
Sister Louise de la Misericorde, 66 
Sleep at Sea, 97, 98 
Sonnet to her Mother, 84 
Speaking Likenesses, 43, 44, 47 
Three Nuns, 5, 6 
Time Flies, 161 
Up-hill, xi, 39 

Verses, 1847, x, 21, 107, 108 
Verses, 1893, xii, 190, 192, 193, 

196, 201, 203 
When I am dead, 31 
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, vii, x, xi, xii, 
I, 2, S, 11-14, 16, 25, 26, 31, 32, 
34-38, 61, 63, 67, 68, 69, 71, 73, 
82, 102, 103, 104, 106-118, 121, 
122, 129, 136, 146, 156, 157, 184, 
196, 197, 201, 211, 212, 222-225, 
227, 228, 229 
Works by — 
Ballads and Sonnets, 99 
Beata Beatrix, 117, 118, 174 
Blake, Sonnet on, 85 



Rossetti, Dante Gabriel 
Works by — contd. 
Blessed Damozel (The), drawing, 

117, 118 
Caricature of Christina Rossetti, 28 
Chatterton, Sonnet, on, 87 
Chimes, loi 
Collected Works, 157, 158, 177, 

214 
Czar Alexander, 93 
Dante's Dream, 81, 96-99 
Daydream, The, 85, 88 
Death (The) of Topsy, 199, 200 
Dutchman's Pipe, The, 108, 109 
Family-letters, viii, 20, 121, 212, 

219 
Girlhood (The) of Mary Virgin, 4 
Goblin Market, designs, 27 
Head of George Hake, 167 
Head of himself, 165, 177, 178 
Head of Lucy Rossetti, 45, 149, 

220 
Henry the Leper, translation, 159 
Jenny, 95 
Joan of Arc, 108 
Kate the Queen, 173 
King's Tragedy, The, 222 
Magdalene (The) at door of Simon 

the Pharisee, 141, 230 
Michelangelo's Kiss, 92 
Monochord, The, 172 
Passover (The) in the Holy Family, 

141, 231 
Pia, La, 88, 89 
Poems, 1870, 75 
Poems, 1881, 99 
Portrait of Eliza Polidori, 172 
Portrait of Gabriele Rossetti, 

106 
Proserpine, 47, 108 
Saint Agnes of Intercession, 115 
Sister Helen, 100, 172 
Sonnet (The), design, 84, 120, 

227 
Sorrentino, 172 
Superscription, A, 172 
Venus Astarte, 49 
Veronica Veronese, 47, 196 
Vision (A) of Fiammetta, 73 
White Ship, The, 85, 89 
Rossetti, Elizabeth. E,., ?.0, 21 



INDEX 



241 



Rossetti, Frances, ix-xiii, 13, 15, 16, 
22, 35, 42, 43, 45, 48, 51, 57, 59, 60, 
62, 64, 67, 69, 75, 84, 91, 97, 102, 
103, no, 119, 125, 127, 129-136, 
141, 145, 148, 150, 152, 153, 154, 
156, 158, 165, 168, 182, 194, 206, 
209, 212, 213, 214, 218, 222 
Rossetti, G. Arthur, 109, 146, 162, 169, 

180, 187, 1 88, 202, 222 
Rossetti, Gabriele, ix, x, 15, 87, 102, 

106, 107, 143 
Rossetti, Gabriele, Roman Antiquities, 

by, 134, 136 
Rossetti, Gabriele, Salterio, II, by, 1 34, 

136, 178 
Rossetti, Helen {see Angeli) 
Rossetti, Lucy, xii, 36, 38-42, 44-47, 
49. 51. 57. 83, 127, 194, 196, 198, 
199, 201, 20^, 218, 225, 226, 228 
Rossetti, Lucy, Michael Rossetti, draw- 
ing of, by, 161, 228 
Rossetti, Maria F., xi, xii, 11, 25, 35, 
39. 41. 43. 46, 52. 57-64, 70, 76, 80, 
100, 106, no, 119, 152, 156, 171, 
206, 210 
Rossetti, Maria F., Italian Exercise- 
book, by, 188 
Rossetti, Maria F., Shadow {A) of 
Dante, by, 34, 75, loi, 171, 202, 
209 
Rossetti, Mary, 119, 146, 155, 168, 

205, 228 
Rossetti, Michael, 164, 228 
,, Olivia {see Agresti) 
Rossetti, William M., viii, ix, xii, 2, 
39, 57, 94, 124, 125, 155, 159, 187, 
223-228, 232, 233 
Works by — 
Butler's Translation of Dante, 

article on, 150 
D. G. Rossetti as Designer and 

Writer, 172 
In the Hill-shadow, 81, 82 
Jeaffreson's Real Shelley, review, 

148 
Lives of Famous Poets, 73, 119 
Longfellow, article on, 119 
Memoir of D. G. Rossetti, 102, 

192, 205 
Portraits of D. G. Rossetti, 167 
Reminiscences, 7, 57, 218, 220 



Rossetti William M. 
Works by — contd. 
Rossetti Papers, edited by, viii 
Talks with Trelawny, 119 
Rossetti Bungalow, Birchington, 127, 

128 
Rovedino, Signor, i, 2 
Royal Academy, 122, 123, 227 
Ruskin, John, 19, 73, 86 

,, Lectures, by, 131-134, 137 



Saint Edmund's Terrace, i, London, 
198, 199 

Saint fames' s Gazette, 190, 200 

San Remo, xii, 158, 159, 162, 202, 204 

Sand, George, 109, no 

Sandys, F. A., 167 

,, Caricature from Millais, by, 
167 

Sangiovanni, Benedetto, 15, 16 

Sark, 126 

Saturday Review, 83 

Scott, Mrs,, 16, 17, 43, no, 181 
,, Sir Walter, 220 
,, Lord of the Isles, by, 220 
,, Wm. Bell, 18, 98, 148, 222, 226 
,, Autobiographical Notes, by, 

189, 190 

Seaford, 79, 96 

Seddon, J. P., n3, n4, 129, 130, 137, 
223, 232 

Seddon, Misses, 130, 137 
,, Mrs., 127, 129, 229 

Sevenoaks, 93 

Sharp, William, 113, 114, 120, 122, 
225, 226 

Sharp, William, Memoir of D. G. Ros- 
setti, by, 227 

Shelley, John, 203, 204 
Percy B., 177 
,, Adonais, by, 177, 178 

,, Society, 178 

Shields, F. J., 69, 70, 88, 89, 127-130, 
132, 134, 135, 138, 141, 142, 224- 
227, 229-232 

Shields, F. J., Designs for Eaton 
Chapel, by, 71 

Shields, F. J., Head of D. G. Rossetti 
in death, by, 167, 225 



242 



INDEX 



Shields, Mrs., 88, 89, 132 
Siddal, Elizabeth E. {see Rossetti) 
Skipsey, Joseph, 87, 181 

,, Mrs., 181 
Smetham, James, 43, 44, 73. 74, 85, S6 
Society for Promoting Christian Know- 
ledge, xi, xii, 80, 92, 190, 193, 212, 
218 
Sortain, Mrs., 13, 14, 16 
Spectator^ The (newspaper), 24 
Stephens, Frederic G., 11, 72, 73, 93 
,, Monograph on D. G. Ros- 

setti, by, 205 
,, Mrs., 226 
Stevens, Mrs., 150 
Stewart, Dr. Edward, 166 
Stewart, Mr., 104, 105, 106, 152, 166, 
168, 180, 183, 191, I93> 194, 196, 
199, 201, 204, 205, 213, 216-219, 
232, 233 
Stillman, W. J., 25, 31, 34, 178, 207 
Stratford-on-Avon, 181 
Sumner, Mrs., 59, 123 
Swinburne, Algernon C, 118, 119, 121, 

1 96, 209 
Swinburne, Algernon C, Century {A) 

of Roundels, by, 120, 125 
Swinburne, Algernon C, Death (A) on 

Easter- day, by, 120, 121 
Swinburne, Algernon C, Tristram of 
Lyoness, by, 119 



Taylor, Tom, 86 
Tebbs, H. Virtue, 227 
Temple Bar (magazine), 86 
Tennyson, Lord, 25 
Thackeray, W, M., 2, 7, 174 

,, Book of Snobs, by, 2, 3, 

12 
Times, The, 28, loi, 213 
Tirebuck, Wm., 119, 120 

, , Memoir of D, G. Rossetti, 

by, 119, 120 
Tooley, Sarah, 220 
Torquay, 160, 162 

Torrington Square, 30, London, xii, 
41, 58, 60, 61, 62, 146, 147, 195, 203 
211, 213, 222 
Townsend, Priscilla, 15, 16 



la 



Traquair, Mrs., 232 

Trowan, Perthshire, 36 

Turguenief, Ivan, 188 

,, Lisa, by, 188 

,, Moue Moue, by, 189 

,, Roi L^ar {Le) de 

Steppe, by, 188 

Turner, G. Sharon, 156, 158, 216 
„ Wm. A., 73, 179 

Tynan, Katherine {see Hinkson) 



V 

Valentine, Laura. 81, 82 

, , Gems of National Poetry, 

edited by, 81 
Vasto, 106, 135, 182 
Ventnor, 8 
Victoria and Albert Museum, 133 



W 

Walker, John, 143, 144 
Walpole, Horace, 53 

,, Letters of, 53 

Warburton, Elliott, 24 

Hochelaga, by, 24 
Warkworth Hermitage, 19 
Watson, Wm., 79 

,, The Prince's Quest, by, 79 

Watts, George F., 134, 216 
Watts-Dunton, Theodore, 67, 68, 71, 
83, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 108, 109, 
no, 112, 116, 119, 126, 185, 222- 
226, 229, 232 
Webster, Augusta, 96, 97, 175 

,, The Sentence, by, 175 

White, Rev. Cosby, 113 
Williams and Norgate, 188 
Wilson, Lisa, 198, 222 
Windsor Park, 77 
Wolverhampton, 112, 114 
World, Z'y^^ (newspaper), 113 
Wright. J. H., 135 

,, Head of Gabriele Rossetti, 

by, 135 



Zoological Gardens, London, 25 



I 



Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, 

bkead street hill, e.g., and 

bungay, suffolk. 



/ 



~7^ 



4 



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Treatment Date; April 2009 

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